Attention All Parents – It’s Up to You to Immunize Your Children

Immunizations are one of the best ways parents can protect their children from serious diseases.  April 24th – May 1st is designated as ‘National Infant Immunization Week’, and is an annual celebration of the significant role immunizations play in keeping our children and our communities safe.  This celebration is a call to action for parents, caregivers, and healthcare providers to assure infants are fully immunized against 14 vaccine-preventable diseases.  The entire month of August is designated as ‘National Immunization Awareness Month’.  This month is set aside to remind everyone that immunizations are not only for infants and the very young, but are recommended for older children and adults throughout their lifetime.  

The diseases prevented by vaccinations can strike the very young, unprotected infant, or a child at an early age.   For example, children younger than 2 years of age are at the highest risk for serious pneumococcal disease like pneumonia, blood infection (sepsis), and meningitis (inflammation of the membranes of the brain/spinal cord).  Another example is Pertussis (whooping cough) – a serious illness in children and adults, but it can be life-threatening for infants.  Making sure that siblings, parents, grandparents, and other caregivers of infants are immunized against pertussis can protect them from infection even when they are too young to be vaccinated. 

The recommended immunization schedule for babies includes vaccination protection against the following diseases:

• Bacterial Meningitis
• Diphtheria
• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Influenza
• Measles
• Mumps
• Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
• Pneumococcal Disease
• Polio
• Rubella (German Measles)
• Tetanus (lockjaw)
• Rotavirus
• Varicella (Chickenpox)

If you don’t have health insurance, or if it does not cover vaccines, the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program may be able to help.  Children younger than 19 years of age are eligible for VFC vaccines if they are Medicaid-eligible, American Indian or Alaskan Native, or have no health insurance.  Parents of uninsured or underinsured children who receive vaccinations at no cost through the VFC Program should check with their healthcare providers or public vaccine clinics about possible administration fees that might apply. 

Become pro-active and make sure that your child is protected against all vaccine-preventable diseases.  It is very important to make sure that your child is up to date on immunizations.  Keep an accurate record of the immunizations, dates and location that your child received their immunizations.  This will be an important part of their home medical file that will be needed when entering kindergarten, when switching schools, and when entering colleges and universities. 

If you have questions about vaccines or immunizations, talk with your child’s healthcare provider or local public health department.  You can contact Four Corners Health Department toll free at 877-337-3573 or visit their website:  www.fourcorners.ne.gov to review the immunization schedules of the public immunization clinics in your area.  You can also visit the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Vaccines & Immunizations home page at www.cdc.gov.