This week is National Infant Immunization week, and Marion County Public Health is reminding the community of the importance of protecting children from vaccine preventable diseases. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control, it is important that children stay on track with their well-child appointments and routine vaccinations, and that on-time vaccinations are crucial to provide protection against life-threatening diseases. There are two main vaccine schedules that children are recommended to stay on are from birth to 15 months and from 18 months to 18 years old. According to the Centers for Disease Control, there are 14 total diseases that can be prevented from immunizations for kids. Marion County Public Health Nurse Judi Van Hulzen recommends that parents schedule their child’s immunizations and well-child exams now instead of waiting until next school year.

“Parents wait until August to call to schedule their vaccines or well-child visit for maybe their seventh grader, or their ten year old who is due for those adolescent vaccines, or it might be that kindergarten kiddo who is due for a dentist appointment and vision test, and they also need to have those immunizations. If you wait until August you’re not going to get in until October because we have some pretty good doctors and they’re hard to get into.”

Find the recommended immunization schedule here. Hear more from Van Hulzen about National Infant Immunization Week on today’s Let’s Talk Knoxville.