National Immunization Awareness Month
Please use the hashtag #NIAM14 to help promote the month on social media!
They say “The purpose of this observance is to highlight the importance of immunizations, one of the top 10 public health accomplishments of the 20th Century, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).
While immunizations have significantly reduced the incidence of many serious infectious diseases, vaccination rates for some diseases are not meeting national public health goals. And we need to remind people that immunizations aren’t just for children. They are needed throughout our lifetime.
The National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) has assembled this NIAM communication toolkit with assistance from CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. The toolkit is designed to help public health information officers, immunization program managers, health care professionals, coalitions, advocates and partner organizations work together to communicate about the importance of immunizations during August.
Three messages are central throughout the toolkit:
• Vaccines are an important step in protecting against serious, and sometimes deadly, diseases.
• Vaccines are recommended throughout our lives.
• A strong provider recommendation is one of the best ways to ensure patients get the vaccinations they need when they need them.
The toolkit is structured to highlight the importance of immunizations for a different population each week of the month:
• Week 1: A Healthy Start: (babies from birth to age 2 and pregnant women)
• Week 2: Back to School (children, pre-teens and teens to age18)
• Week 3: Off to the Future (young adults age 19-26)
• Week 4: Not Just for Kids: (adults age 26+)
Yopu can read up more about the months events here.