National Immunization Awareness Month

This year, we celebrate the 17th annual National Immunization Awareness Month.

History of National Immunization Awareness Month

The National Partnership for Immunization first designated August as National Immunization Awareness Month in 2001.

“NIAM was officially announced to the media and the immunization community with a kickoff event at the National Press Club on August 1, 2001. Key stakeholders, including maternal and child health professionals, immunization advocates and policymakers participated in a press conference and reception in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the initiation of this yearly event.”

Are you up-to-date? Vaccinate! An early theme of National Immunization Awareness Month.

In addition to giving awards to a few members of Congress, the TV show ER got a media award at the first National Immunization Awareness Month because the show “portrayed the importance of vaccinations using the story of an unvaccinated child who was sent to the emergency room and subsequently died from measles. The episode effectively relayed the important messages that measles still occurs in this country, that the disease can be deadly and that it can be prevented by immunization.”

In 2006, the CDC “took over” National Immunization Awareness Month, continuing NPI’s campaign focused around the theme, “Are You Up to Date? Vaccinate!”

Unfortunately, the CDC didn’t really sponsor the month. They just recognized that it was happening on their website…

“While CDC does not sponsor this month, CDC does support and encourage the efforts of state and local health departments and other immunization partners to celebrate NIAM and use this month to promote back to school immunizations, remind college students to catch up immunizations before they move into dormitories, and remind everyone that the influenza season is only a few months away. It’s a great reminder to our nation that people of all ages require timely immunization to protect their health.”

It wasn’t until 2013 that National Immunization Awareness Month really came back.

That’s when the National Public Health Information Coalition started coordinating NIAM activities, including key messages, sample media materials, social media content, and event ideas to:

Encourage parents of young children to get recommended immunizations by age two
Help parents make sure older children, preteens, and teens have received all recommended vaccines by the time they go back to school
Remind college students to catch up on immunizations before they move into dormitories
Educate adults, including healthcare workers, about vaccines and boosters they may need
Educate pregnant women about getting vaccinated to protect newborns from diseases like whooping cough (pertussis)
Remind everyone that the next flu season is only a few months away

In 2014, NIAM began to also focus on a different stage of the lifespan each week, from infants, children and teens to pregnant women and adults.