August is National Immunization Awareness Month

The celebration of National Immunization Awareness Month in August calls attention to the importance of vaccines as a way to prevent serious, life-threatening diseases. In partnership with local health departments from across the state, the North Carolina Immunization Branch is celebrating National Immunization Awareness Month by encouraging North Carolinians of all ages to make sure they are current on their vaccinations.

August is the perfect time to remind family, friends, co-workers, and those in the community to catch up on their vaccinations. Parents are enrolling their children in school, students are entering college, and health care workers are preparing for the upcoming flu season.

An increasing number of pertussis cases and a decreasing childhood immunization rate are both challenges we currently face in North Carolina. So, this year, North Carolina is focusing on the message, “All Aboard DTaP 4.” The DTaP vaccine protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough). Children need five doses of the vaccine to have the best protection against these diseases. This new statewide initiative aims to increase childhood immunization rates by promoting timely administration of the fourth DTaP dose at 15-18 months of age. The fourth dose is the most frequently missed of the series.

Immunization has been cited as one of the most significant public health achievements of the 20th century. Vaccines have eradicated smallpox, eliminated wild poliovirus in the U.S., and significantly reduced the number of cases of measles, diphtheria, rubella, pertussis and other diseases. But despite these efforts, today tens of thousands of people in the U.S. still die from these and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

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Last Modified: July 31, 2006