April 21-28 is National Infant Immunization Week and the Latin Chamber of Commerce would like to remind parents to get their infants vaccinated. Why? Because each year children die from easily-preventable diseases such as pertussis (whooping cough) or pneumonia.
In fact, according to a May 2009 study led by a vaccine research team at Kaiser Permanente Colorado’s Institute for Health Research which ran in the June 2009 issue of the journal “Pediatrics,” children who aren’t vaccinated are 23 times more likely to get whooping cough compared to fully immunized children.
National Infant Immunization Week is an annual observance to promote the benefits of immunizations and to improve the health of children 2 years old or younger.
A onesheet of recommended vaccines – available in English and Spanish – can be found on the CDC’s website: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/ed-resources.html. The Latin Chamber recommends parents print out the onesheet and place it somewhere that’s easily findable to ensure their children don’t get behind on their vaccines.
Some of the recommended vaccines include: pneumococcal; Hepatitis B; measles, mumps, rubella; and Varicella.
According to the CDC’s website, this year’s National Infant Immunization Week will be celebrated as part of the first World Immunization Week, an initiative of the World Health Organization. During World Immunization Week, all six World Health Organization regions, including more than 180 member states, territories and areas, will simultaneously promote immunization, advance equity in the use of vaccines and universal access to vaccination services, and enable cooperation on cross-border immunization activities in April.