August Is National Immunization Awareness Month

We’ve been posting and chatting recently about National Breastfeeding Week/Month, but August is also National Immunization Awareness Month.

For pregnant women and newborns, it’s especially important to get timely vaccinations.

The National Public Health Information Coalition, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has developed toolkits to help you promote vaccination in August and throughout the year. The toolkits, which include basic information on vaccines, social media messages, and other resources, are available for pregnant women, infants and children, preteens and teens and adults.

Related resources from the CDC:

• Posters, video PSAs, tweets, and Facebook posts, to encourage parents to get their babies’ recommended immunizations by age 2
• The Vaccines for Children Program, which offers vaccines at no cost for eligible children through doctors enrolled in the program
• Information for pregnant women about getting vaccinated to protect newborns from diseases like whooping cough (pertussis)
• Reminders that the next flu season is only a few months away

For more information on National Immunization Awareness Month, visit www.nphic.org/niam.