National Immunization Awareness Month

August is National Immunization Awareness Month. As the school year approaches, it’s a good reminder that vaccines are one of the best ways to keep kids healthy.

August has been named “National Immunization Awareness Month” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to remind families to take advantage of one of the most successful and cost-effective preventive health care interventions for children.

In California, about 91% of kindergarteners have all of the required immunizations, just shy of the CDC target of 95%. County percentages range between 71.6% and 98.3%, according to the latest estimates from 2011. Schools in California require proof of recommended immunizations as a condition of entry into kindergarten and licensed child care, which means that a majority of kids are vaccinated by the time they start school. However, vaccination rates are much lower for infants and toddlers, who are especially vulnerable to communicable diseases.

The CDC notes that many teenagers are missing out on key vaccines. Only about 50% of teenage girls in the U.S. have received one of three Human Papillomavirus (HPV) shots, and less than a third received the full three-shot series. This vaccine protects against four strains of HPV, one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in the country, which account for 70% of all cervical cancer as well as 90% of genital warts.

Although vaccination rates in the United States are relatively high, some families opt out because of religious or ethical beliefs, or due to concerns about vaccine safety or effectiveness. Research shows that communities with unvaccinated and under-vaccinated populations are at higher risk for outbreaks of preventable diseases, such as measles and whooping cough. The CDC urges citizens of all ages to keep up to date with the appropriate vaccinations.

Useful Links

• Immunization Data – California
• CDC: Vaccines & Immunizations
• CDC: National Immunization Awareness Month

Posted by Amy Lam

This entry was posted on Monday, August 12th, 2013 at 11:54 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.