August is National Immunization Awareness Month (Part 1)

August is National Immunization Awareness Month (Part 1)
Doctors highlight the importance of disease prevention almost all the time. This month the focus is to promote immunization for people of all ages. Learn more.

This August, medical institutions and nonprofit organizations, along with other sectors of society, are celebrating the National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM). The purpose of promoting immunization among Americans is to remind them of the benefits that immunization brings to people regardless of their age.

All the activities are geared towards encouraging individuals and their families to protect their health by getting immunization against various infectious and lethal diseases. For 2014, it is the National Public Health Information Coalition that is coordinating all the NIAM activities.

This same governmental organization developed the National Immunization Awareness Month Communication Toolkit, which assigned weekly themes for the month of August.

August 3 to 9: A Healthy Start

The weekly theme is about immunization for pregnant women and infants, as they are in the most critical stage where getting immunized can save their lives from certain diseases. Here are some helpful information about immunization during infancy and pregnancy.

  • Vaccines give babies the power to protect their bodies from as many as 14 dangerous diseases before they reach two years old. This is why it is recommended that parents have their children immunized before their second birthday.
  • Children who are not fortunate enough to receive the necessary vaccines have a higher chance of contracting a contagious disease, especially the severe case of the specific illness. It is not possible to tell in in advance whether an unvaccinated child will develop a disease that can be prevented through vaccination. The degree of seriousness of the disease cannot also be predicted.
  • The effectiveness of vaccines do not just protect one child, as immunization is a responsibility that is shared by different sectors of society. Families, government officials, and healthcare professionals need to together in order to protect an entire community.
  • The good news is that most parents are properly vaccinating their children and on schedule. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that mst people are getting immunizations on schedule, based on their April 2012 online poll. Around 88 percent of parents have reported that they are either vaccinating their children on time or they are planning to do so.
  • While many young American parents have been fortunate enough to be spared from seeing or experiencing the serious effects of polio, measles, whooping cough, chickenpox, and other infectious diseases can have on a family, these illnesses are still very much in existence.
  • For those parents who travel from time to time, there are vaccine-preventable illnesses that can be contracted by visiting other countries. One good example is measles, which is not common in the US where people are protected by vaccines, but it still rampant in many corners of the world.

You may continue reading about Immunization Awareness Month in the next article. Visit http://www.freddabranyon.com for other health-related articles.