This week is National Infant Immunization Week and Marion County Public Health wants all families to make sure their children are up to date on vaccines.
National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) is a yearly observance held in April, highlighting the importance of protecting children two years and younger from vaccine-preventable diseases. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend that children stay on track with their well-child appointments and routine vaccinations. On-time vaccination is critical to provide protection against potentially life-threatening diseases.
According to Marion County Public Health, over the last 50 years, essential vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives, which is six lives a minute everyday for five decades. In these 50 years, vaccination accounts for 40% of the improvement in infant survival, and more children now live to see their first birthday and beyond than at any other time in human history. The measles vaccine alone accounts for 60% of those lives saved and currently vaccines provide protection for up to 16 diseases. Marion County Public Health Nurse Judi Van Hulzen says by getting vaccinated, people aren’t just protecting themselves, but everyone who comes into contact with us.
“The intent of immunizations is two fold. It’s individual and it is population health meaning that we not only give that vaccines to protect that specific person whether it’s an infant, child, or adult but we also give it to protect their grandparents that they’re going to be coming into contact with, they’re playmates we want to protect them from measles, pregnant mothers we want to protect them from tetanus, and young girls from HPV.”
Marion County Public Health provides vaccinations to both children up to 18 years of age and adults 19 and older who have no insurance or whose insurance does not cover vaccinations. These programs are federally funded programs that provide vaccines at no cost to those who might not otherwise be vaccinated because of the inability to pay. Hear more from Van Hulzen on today’s Let’s Talk Knoxville.