Don't wait — vaccinate:
April 20-26

Achieving and sustaining high vaccine coverage rates will require many interventions.

[Four Ways to Help Parents Help Their Children]

[Your turn]

April 1997

Currently, vaccination rates are at all-time highs and occurrences of most childhood diseases are at all-time lows. More than 75% of the nation's 2-year-olds have received the recommended basic series of vaccinations — that means 25% have not. More work is needed.

National Infant Immunization Week — April 20-26 — is an annual observance that highlights the importance of timely immunization. This year's theme is "Don't Wait — Vaccinate." Your activities during this special week are really important, because pediatricians have such an influence on parental behavior. You can help raise the rate to meet the national goal: to have at least 90% of children fully immunized by age 2 by 2000.

In January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new childhood immunization schedule. The CDC is also emphasizing the need for pediatricians and other health care providers to discuss with parents or caregivers the immunization status of children at every sick- and well-child visit.

The goals are to:

• start immunizations on time;
• ensure that every child maintains contact with the health care system; and to
• ensure that a child's health status is properly assessed at every visit to a health care provider.

You can obtain a National Infant Immunization Week Community Guide that provides ideas to help get the message out. To keep the immunization message in front of the public beyond NIIW, you may want to piggyback your message with community events throughout the year. For example, you can hand out fliers at a community health fair. There are lots of ideas in this book.

The CDC would like to know if you plan any activities for National Infant Immunization Week. You can contact them by fax at 404-639-8555, or write them at:

Community Outreach and Planning Branch
Immunization Services Division
National Immunization Program
1600 Clifton Road, MS E-52,
Atlanta, GA 30333.

Four Ways to Help Parents Help Their Children

1. Make parents/caregivers aware of the need to protect their baby against 10 vaccine preventable diseases.
2. Encourage better communication between parents/caregivers and health care providers about a child's vaccination needs.
3. Tell parents/caregivers they need to follow through on the recommendations by making and keeping needed appointments.
4. Give parents/caregivers a toll-free number they can call to locate a facility that offers free immunizations if they cannot afford them.

Your turn

You can express your views on this article, or other relevant themes, in the Infectious Diseases in Children Specialty Forums.

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Copyright 1997, SLACK Incorporated. Revised 18 April 1997.