National Infant Immunization Week is April 24-30
Note: The following item was provided by Atrium Floyd Health for publication. Tifani Kinard, Vice President of Rural Health, penned this latest item. -KtE
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to observe National Infant Immunization Week, April 24-30, by ensuring that their children, particularly those age two and younger, are on track for recommended vaccinations and routine check-ups.
Getting caught up on childhood immunizations is as easy as contacting your pediatrician’s office. Missing or delaying Immunizations can put your child and others in the community at risk of contracting serious diseases, including:
- Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis
- COVID-19
- Haemophilus influenzae (the cause of serious spinal, brain lining and bloodstream infections)
- Hepatitis A and B
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
- Influenza
- Measles, Mumps and Rubella
- Meningitis
- Pneumonia
- Polio
- Rotavirus
- Varicella (chickenpox)
Vaccines protect children from these diseases, some of which can lead to hospitalization or even worse.
The shots given during childhood don’t just protect kids while they’re young. Protection carries through into adulthood in many cases and sometimes with a booster, such as the tetanus and diphtheria shot recommended every 10 years for adults.
The HPV vaccine series, which should start in the tween years, helps prevent cervical cancer, as well as head and neck cancers for which HPV is a leading cause.
New life to old diseases
Most vaccines aren’t 100% effective, but when enough people are immunized against a disease, it creates herd immunity, which reduces the likelihood of infection for everyone, as many of us have learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. When vaccination rates drop, herd immunity is diminished and serious diseases that had become almost non-existent can reemerge.
Measles is the perfect example. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), major measles epidemics occurred every few years and caused as many as 2.6 million deaths per year before the introduction of a vaccine in 1963. Unfortunately, the progress made by that vaccine has recently been undercut by a drop in vaccinations, which the WHO says “has led to a 556% surge in the number of reported cases and a 50% increase in deaths from the disease since 2016.”
Both the WHO and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services say that vaccines are one of the most successful and cost-effective disease prevention measures available to society, but vaccine delay or hesitancy threatens to undermine this. For the unvaccinated, their lack of protection from highly preventable diseases is coupled with other issues that vaccinated children and adults don’t have to worry about, such as:
- A difficulty or delay in being diagnosed or treated for diseases that today’s doctors are less familiar with because eradication was almost achieved
- The chance of having to isolate or quarantine if there’s a disease outbreak at your school or community
- The risk of being hospitalized or suffering serious long-term complications like those associated with meningitis, which include potential hearing loss and learning disabilities
- More time missed from school or work due to illness
False information about vaccines often triggers most parental fear about getting their children immunized. Parents who are hesitant should make an appointment with their child’s pediatrician to discuss their concerns.
Parents can trust reliable resources like healthychildren.org, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the CDC because they are fact-checked sources of medical information unlike personal social media posts.
Staying on track
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) sets the schedule for childhood immunizations. The medical and public health experts on this committee base their recommendations and guidance for the safe use of vaccines on scientific evidence.
The schedule is divided up between children at birth to 15 months and those 18 months to 18 years, with a significant number of shots happening in the earlier age group.
Parents who may have skipped their child’s well check and immunizations during the COVID-19 pandemic or for other reasons can rest assured that their kids won’t be overloaded with shots when they’re ready to get back on track.
About Atrium Health Floyd
The Atrium Health Floyd family of health care services is a leading medical provider and economic force in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the fifth-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health.
Atrium Health Floyd employs more than 3,500 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at three hospitals: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 304-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center in Rome, Georgia; Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia; and Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; as well as Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health – a freestanding 53-bed behavioral health facility in Rome – and also primary care and urgent care network locations throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama.
About Advocate Health
Advocate Health is the fifth-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health serves nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs nearly 150,000 team members across 67 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides nearly $5 billion in annual community benefits.
