As summer comes to an end and families across the US get ready for a new school year, it’s important to think about more than just school supplies and new clothes. There’s something else that should be on every family’s checklist—vaccinations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that over the past 30 years, vaccines have prevented hundreds of millions of illnesses and saved more than 1 million lives among US children. Yet, despite this incredible success, some parents are still unsure about vaccinating their own children.
With National Immunization Awareness Month wrapping up, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) offers resources to help educate parents and raise awareness about why vaccines are so important, especially with the school year getting underway …
In this recorded webinar, NFID Medical Director Robert (Bob) H. Hopkins, Jr., MD, moderates a discussion on US immunization recommendations for children and adolescents. Featured experts Jessica N. Snowden, MD, MS, MHPTT, at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and NFID Director Matthew M. Zahn, MD, at OC Health Care Agency, highlight recent updates to US vaccine recommendations, current disparities in childhood and adolescent vaccination rates, and strategies to increase immunization rates.
The latest episode of the NFID series, Contagious Chronicles, features Hopkins and NFID Director Flor M. Muñoz, MD, MSc, at Baylor College of Medicine. They discuss vaccine recommendations to keep children safe throughout the school year and answer frequently asked questions from parents and caregivers.
As families gear up for a new school year, they stress the importance of making sure children are protected against preventable diseases. Vaccinations are a simple yet powerful way to keep children and teens healthy, so they can focus on learning, growing, and having fun. “Vaccines save lives,” said Hopkins, “and vaccines make adults.”
We are in a place right now after the COVID pandemic, where children and teens are at risk of getting exposed to diseases that we can prevent through vaccination. … We have the opportunity to prevent it, and it’s important to do.
NFID Director Flor M. Muñoz, MD, MSc
To join the conversation and get the latest news on infectious diseases, follow NFID on X (Twitter) using the hashtags #IVax2Protect and #VaccinesSaveLives, like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, visit us on LinkedIn, listen and subscribe to the Infectious IDeas podcast, and subscribe to receive future NFID Updates.
