National Immunization Awareness Month

Photographer unknown, Grant Elementary School, 1926, Yesterday’s Lakewood Collection, courtesy of Special Collections, Cleveland State University Library, Gift of Joseph E. Cole

Vaccinations are not just for children. Every year, on average, more than 47,000 American adults die from vaccine-preventable diseases. “Are you up-to-date? Vaccinate!” is the focus the 2005 National Immunization Awareness Month, reminding people of all ages of the importance of immunization. Immunization is one of the most important public health achievements of the 20th century. It has led to the eradications of smallpox worldwide. Since the 1950s in the U.S., polio, measles and rubella have been eliminated and rates of vaccine-preventable diseases such diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), and mumps have been reduced by 99%.

Keeping vaccinations up-to-date protects individuals and the community. As Dr. Julie Louise Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reminds Americans, “Diseases that have been eliminated in this country, such as polio, remain only a plane ride away.”

The CDC recommends that children receive vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, polio and others. Adolescents should be vaccinated against hepatitis A, hepatitis B and meningococcal disease, and others that may have been missed earlier. Those recommended for adults include vaccines against influenza, pneumococcal disease, tetanus and diphtheria.

Below, please find the complete recommended immunization schedules from the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

• Adult Immunization Schedule
• Child & Adolescent Immunization Schedule

Additional downloadable information can be found by clicking on the link below.

• National Partnership for Immunization Brochures

Sources and Resources:

• Immunization Action Coalition
• National Partnership for Immunization
• CDC Immunization Information
• National Network for Immunization Information
• National Institutes of Health - MedLine Plus - Immunization
• National Immunization Awareness Month