August is National Immunization Awareness Month! It’s an annual observance to highlight the importance of vaccination for people of all ages. The Center for Disease Control and communities across the country use the month each year to raise awareness about the important role vaccines play in preventing serious, sometimes deadly, diseases across all lifespans. Let’s prevent disabilities before they start. Especially this year, many are delaying vaccines and doctors’ office visits because of CV19. This is an important time to keep your child’s immunizations current.
We all need shots (vaccines) to help protect us from serious diseases, this protection is called immunization. To help keep our community safe by increasing “herd” immunity. It takes all of us to create that safety and protection. Recent measles outbreaks are evidence that there is still work to be done!
Shots can prevent serious diseases like the flu, measles, and pneumonia. It’s important to know which shots you need and when to get them.
- Everyone age 6 months and older needs to get a flu vaccine every year. Other types of shots work best at specific ages or life stages.If you have a child age 6 or younger, learn which shots your child needs.
- Find out which shots you need as an adult.Use this chart for adults to see if you are up to date on your shots.
- If you’re pregnant, check out the recommended immunization schedule
Talk to your doctor or nurse to make sure that everyone in your family gets the shots they need.