As part of the effort to promote the positive impacts of vaccination, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is observing National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) the week of April 16-23, 2016. NIIW is recognized as part of the World Health Organization’s “World Immunization Week” event in which universal access to life-saving vaccines is promoted across the globe.
Since 1994, NIIW has focused on immunization for children 2 years or younger and enables the CDC, grass roots organizations, and healthcare providers to advocate for broader access to vaccination services. During NIIW, the CDC supports education to parents and caregivers about the importance of childhood vaccinations to protect against preventable and potentially devastating diseases. The CDC also works to create public awareness, and supply resources for healthcare providers and coalitions. According to the World Health Organization, immunization prevents 2-3 million deaths annually from diseases including diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and measles. As part of NIIW, the CDC also publishes milestones related to benefits of infant immunization:
- With proper vaccination, infants and children can be protected from 14 vaccine-preventable diseases
- Routine childhood vaccinations prevent 20 million cases of disease and 42,000 deaths in each birth cohort. This avoidance of disease also saves approximately $13.5 billion in direct healthcare costs.
- Although immunization rates are at historical record levels, preventable disease still exists in the United States. One recent example was the increase in measles outbreaks reported in 2014; 667 cases across 27 states were reported to the CDC.
The CDC continues to provide resources and recommendations to healthcare providers to improve the effectiveness of vaccination programs. At Helmer Scientific, we play an important role in ensuring that administered vaccines are stored under appropriate conditions up until administration. Additional information on the CDC’s vaccine storage recommendations can be found on the Helmer Scientific blog article titled “The Center for Disease Control and Prevention Vaccine Storage Recommendations for Vaccine Administration Sites”.
