Immunizations

Congratulations to Chapter Member Erica Paez, MD!

Recipient of the 2024 Immunization Champion Award from Association of Immunization Managers (AIM)

The Immunization Champion Award, hosted by the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) and funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recognizes individuals doing an exemplary job or going above and beyond to promote or foster immunizations in their communities for children and adults. This year, each of the 46 award winners were nominated and selected from a pool of health professionals, community advocates, and other immunization leaders for significantly contributing to public health in their community.

When families, healthcare professionals, and public health officials work together, all people can be protected from serious and deadly vaccine-preventable diseases. These awardees inspire all of us who care about immunization in our communities! Read more about Erica Paez, MD’s accomplishments here.

August is National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM)

During National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) in August, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) will be promoting new resources for families and pediatricians, many of them translated into more languages to get these important messages to more families. In addition, the AAP will be promoting its YouTube course on immunization: For New Parents, The Complete Guide to Childhood Vaccinations.

For pediatricians, new resources will help communicate with families in every community. The Academy will be promoting translated discussion guides, now available in many new languages including Chinese and Korean. A full set of these will be available in time for NIAM by the end of July. There will also be resources available on HealthyChildren.org, including “Measles: What Parents Need to Know,” now translated into Somali, Nepali, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Arabic, and Russian. A new Ukrainian translation is coming soon.

Other resources include:

HPV vaccination reminder postcards for clinics available in English, Chinese and Spanish
Adolescent Immunization Discussion Guides (aap.org)
Measles (Patient Care)

On social media, the AAP will be sharing messages from the AAP’s Immunizations Campaign Toolkit, including:

Video: Flu/COVID
Video: Childhood immunizations

Vaccines have dramatically changed medicine over the last century. Before vaccines, parents in the United States could expect that every year:

Polio would paralyze 10,000 children.
Pertussis (whooping cough) would kill 8,000 infants.
Measles would infect about 4 million children, killing about 500.
Rubella (German measles) would cause birth defects and intellectual disabilities in as many as 20,000 newborns.
Diphtheria would be one of the most common causes of death in school-aged children.
A bacterium called Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) would cause meningitis in 15,000 children, leaving many with permanent brain damage,

Click here for additional resources from CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention NIAM website.

Resources

The Immunization Schedule

New for 2020! Click here for the current schedule recommended by the CDC, AAP, AAFP, and ACOG.

Immunization Information for Parents

Visit HealthyChildren.org, the AAP parenting website, for information for families about immunizations.

AAP Immunization Initiatives Newsletter

Check out our AAP’s newsletter for the latest on immunizations.

AAP #CallYourPediatrician Campaign

AAP has launched the #CallYourPediatrician campaign, which aims to reach parents with timely reminders that going to the pediatrician, even during COVID-19,is important and safe. The campaign includes images, videos, and traditional Public Service Announcements in English and Spanish.