August is National Immunization Awareness Month
August 12, 2008 - “Back-to-school” is around the corner – a time for children to buy new clothes and school supplies, but also a time to get healthy and ready to learn. Part of that process includes getting immunized.
August is the a perfect time to remind family, friends, co-workers and those in the community to stay up-to-date with vaccinations since children are going back to school, students are entering college, and healthcare workers are preparing for the upcoming flu season.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), immunization is one of the most significant public health achievements of the 20th century. Vaccines have significantly reduced the number of several debilitating and life-threatening diseases including smallpox, poliovirus, and rubella, among others.
Despite those accomplishments, tens of thousands of people in the U.S. still die from vaccine-preventable diseases. The CDC states that preventing a disease is always better than the treatment the disease would require if contracted. And getting immunized is a lifelong, life-protecting community effort regardless of age, sex, race, ethnic background or country of origin.
The Importance of Vaccines to School-Aged Children
Children are particularly vulnerable to infection; therefore, most vaccines should be given during the first five to six years of life. However, the CDC also recommends that pre-teens and adolescents also get immunized for the following: the Tdap, the MCV4, and the HPV vaccine, for girls. According to the CDC, these vaccines prevent serious, sometimes life-threatening diseases.
In addition, if a virus like influenza spreads within a community, it can cause many children to miss school days as well as generate loss of productivity within the school community. The CDC recently released recommendations for the prevention and control of the flu including: 1) the annual influenza vaccination be administered to all children aged 5-18 years and 2) the annual influenza vaccination of all children aged 6 months through 4 years continue to be a primary focus of vaccination efforts because these children are at higher risk for influenza complications compared with older children.
To learn more about immunizations, please visit CDC’s Vaccines & Immunizations webpage. To learn more about the HPV vaccine, read a statement released jointly by the CDC and the FDA on its safety and effectiveness at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaers/FDA_and_CDC_Statement.htm.
Source: CDC's Vaccines and Immunizations webpages; and "Prevention and Control of Influenza: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), 2008," MMWR, CDC, July 17, 2008.