FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 6, 2003
Contact: Kerre Fisher, (907) 269-2042 or 748-7398
August is National Immunization Awareness Month
Survey: Alaska ranked 27th in nation for immunization rates for 2-year olds, up from 48th in 1996
Printer Friendly Copy (PDF format, 38 kb)
Anchorage, Alaska - - - The National Partnership for Immunization (NPI) sponsors National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) to raise awareness of the importance of immunizations to avoid infectious disease and its devastating consequences. NIAM highlights the need for improving national immunization coverage levels and encourages all people to protect their health by being immunized against infectious diseases. NIAM is commemorated in August – a time when children are returning to school, college students are moving into dormitories, and the influenza season is only a few months away – to remind the nation that people of all ages require timely immunization for good health.
Doug Bruce, H&SS Director of the Division of Public Health, said, “National Immunization Awareness Month focuses attention on the importance of proper immunizations for Alaskans of all ages and reminds parents to update their children’s immunizations, including college bound students, for back-to-school.”
In 1996, Alaska ranked 48th in the nation for immunization of two-year-olds. The recently released 2002 National Immunization Survey results rank Alaska as 27th in the nation in this category. Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Joel Gilbertson credits this improvement to efforts made by Alaskan families, federal, state, and local public health and education agencies, Native health organizations, and public and private medical communities.
Immunization is one of the most significant public health achievements of the 20th century. Vaccines have eradicated smallpox, eliminated wild poliovirus in the U.S. and significantly reduced the number of cases of measles, diphtheria, rubella, pertussis and other diseases. But despite these efforts, thousands of people in the U.S. still suffer from these and other vaccine-preventable diseases. By staying current on recommended vaccines, individuals can protect themselves, their families, friends, and their communities from serious life-threatening infections.
For information on where to get immunizations, school and child care requirements and all other immunization questions, please call the Alaska Immunization Hotline at 1-888-430-4321, your local health department, other healthcare providers.
Other online information:
For more information: Doreen Stangel, Education and Training Coordinator, State of Alaska Immunization Program (907) 269-8000. E-mail: doreen_stangel@health.state.ak.us
--30--
For more information, please contact
Sherry Hill, Special Assistant to the Commissioner for Communications
(907) 465-1611Or
Ross Soboleff
Public Information Officer III
(907) 465-1611
Follow Alaska_DHSS on Twitter
Connect with us on Facebook