MACON, Ga., April 25, 2024 – Atrium Health Navicent encourages parents and caregivers to join the health system in observing National Infant Immunization Week, April 22-29, by ensuring that their children, particularly those ages 2 and younger, stay on track for routine check-ups and recommended vaccinations.
According to the World Health Organization, which also observes World Immunization Week this week, vaccines play a critical role in preventing more than 20 life-threatening diseases, helping people of all ages live longer, healthier lives. Immunization prevents millions of deaths every year from diseases like COVID-19, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza and measles.
“Vaccinations are one of the most effective tools in medicine. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” said Dr. Christy Peterson, an Atrium Health Navicent pediatrician. “We do not want to go back to the way things were before vaccines, when children dying before age 2 was commonplace. Breastfeeding and vaccination together provide such a strong defense against disease that even a breastfed and vaccinated baby born with a compromised immune system is less likely to become sick until after the conclusion of breastfeeding.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 4 million deaths worldwide are prevented by childhood vaccination every year. In fact, vaccines are among the most successful and cost-effective public health tools available for preventing disease and death. Despite this, global immunization coverage for infants dropped to 81 percent in 2021, the lowest rate in over a decade.
The CDC reports that during the 2021–22 school year, national coverage with state-required vaccines among kindergarten students decreased again to approximately 93 percent for all state-required vaccines. An additional 4.4 percent of children were not up to date with measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.
For more information about recommended vaccination schedules for infants, contact your child’s primary care provider. For information about services for children at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital, visit ChildrensHospitalNH.org/LevineChildrens.
