National Immunization Awareness Month 

National Immunization Awareness Month is an annual observance held in August to highlight the importance of vaccination for people of all ages. 

1. Vaccines have saved lives for over 100 years, but disease is still a threat.

• Diseases remain a threat all over the world making it important that you stay up to date on recommended vaccines.

2. Vaccines help your body create protective antibodies that help it fight off infections.

• Getting vaccinated protects you against preventable diseases.

• Getting vaccinated allows you to avoid spreading preventable diseases to other people in your community.

3. Vaccines can prevent serious illness.

• Vaccinations against preventable diseases also prevents the serious complications from the diseases that lead to later illnesses.

• Preventing seasonal influenza helps prevent flu related pneumonia as well as flu related heart attacks, strokes and complications from diabetes and chronic heart or lung conditions.

• Hepatitis B vaccinations help protect you from the chronic liver damage and cancer that the disease causes.

• Human papillomavirus vaccinations protect you from the cervical cancer and other cancers in both women and men that HPV causes.

4. Vaccinations are safe.

• The CDC and other experts carefully review safety data before recommending any vaccine.

5. Vaccines can prevent serious diseases that once killed or harmed many infants and children. 

• Without vaccines, children are at risk for serious illness or even death from diseases like measles, polio, rubella, and whooping cough.

Fo references to fact included in this memo, click here.