August is National Immunization Awareness Month and ImmunizeVA is celebrating big this year! Here's what we've got going on:
We are hosting a coloring contest with a picture of our new mascot, Tracker. Be sure to send in your submission anytime throughout the month of August for a chance to win a stuffed animal of Tracker! Find more details here!
We are posting content daily that we encourage you to like and share! Each week we'll focus on a different vaccine theme.
We launched the 'Our Shot' campaign so you can explore graphic and videos of vaccination stories from Virginian's that you can post. It also includes graphics of our beloved mascot, Tracker!
Immunization Awareness Month is the perfect time to draw awareness to routine vaccinations. July 1st, 2021 marked changes to school vaccination requirements in Virginia. The schedule now includes all vaccines recommended by the CDC. The updates include:
Two doses of properly spaced HPV vaccine for males and famales. The first dose should be administered before the child enters 7th grade.
Two or three properly spaced doses of Rotavirus (depending on the manufacturer) for children up to 8 months.
Two properly spaced doses of hepatitis A vaccine (HAV). The first dose should be administered at age 12 months or older.
Two properly spaced doses of MenACWY vaccine. The first dose should be administered prior to entry to 7th grade and the second doses should be administered prior to entry to 12th grade.
To learn more, check out VDH's new Back To School site.
This month also encourages us to reflect on the past year. The emergence of the Coronavirus pandemic has illustrated the importance and value of vaccinations. Vaccines help keep communities safe by building community immunity. This means the more people in a community that are vaccinated, the smaller the chances become of people contracting and spreading the virus. By getting a vaccine, you are protecting yourself and everyone around you. Immunizations also help you save time, and money. The treatment of these diseases can be costly and take long periods of time to recover fully.
On behalf of ImmunizeVA, we encourage all Virginians to put their health first and get vaccinated!
