Each August, National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) is observed nationwide to promote the importance of vaccinations for people of all ages and backgrounds.
Vaccines have dramatically changed medicine over the last century–in fact, “few medical interventions can compete with vaccines for their cumulative impact of health and well-being of entire populations.” It can be difficult to conceptualize the number of deaths, illnesses, and hospitalizations that never happened because of routine immunizations, but it is an undeniable fact that millions upon millions of people all over the globe have lived full and happy lives because of immunizations for preventable diseases. According to the CDC’s Fast Facts on Global Immunization, about 4 million deaths worldwide are prevented by childhood immunizations each year. By 2030, it’s estimated that 19 million lives will be saved by the measles vaccination and 14 millions lives will be saved by the hepatitis B vaccination.
Vaccines also play a vital role in hindering the development of antibiotic-resistant microbes–vaccines stop people from catching infections, which means less antibiotics are used, thereby lowering the chances that antibiotic resistance develops.
Vaccines are safe. Read up on safety information by individual vaccine at CDC.
More information on National Immunization Awareness Month is available at the CDC NIAM web page, which includes Vaccine Schedules and strategies to help providers encourage immunizations for their patients.
Emory University and Healthcare users can access the point of care tool DynaMed for additional resources on Immunizations in Adults, Children and Adolescents, and Immunocompromised individuals.
Vaccination is vital to public health. Disease prevention has been proven to prolong life expectancy and improve quality of life. As antivaccination movements gain traction, diseases once thought to be eradicated or nearly eradicated have had significant outbreaks. Unfortunately, preventive measures such as vaccines are often overlooked by primary care providers and patients. For children, parents often do not know the appropriate schedule for vaccines, and therefore are often unaware of when their children are behind on vaccinations. Another common reason for missed vaccination is missed appointments for various reasons. Patient recall and reminder systems have been created and shown significant improvement in increasing vaccination compliance rates.