OSWEGO, NY – The Oswego County Health Department will observe National Infant Immunization Week from April 23 to April 30.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designate National Infant Immunization Week to remind parents, health professionals, and the public that children deserve a healthy start by immunizing them against vaccine-preventable diseases.
There are now vaccines to protect children against 14 diseases before they reach two years of age.
Despite recent gains in infant immunization coverage, more than 20 percent of the country’s two-year-old children are not fully immunized against infectious diseases, many of which they are especially vulnerable to.
“NIIW provides a chance for us to remember how important vaccines are and renew our efforts to make sure no child needlessly suffers from a vaccine-preventable disease,” says Erin Ciappa, immunization coordinator for the Oswego County Health Department.
To commemorate NIIW, the Oswego County Health Department honored the Oswego County Opportunities Health Centers for their continued effort in raising immunization rates in Oswego County.
The OCO Health Centers assisted in keeping hundreds of Oswego County children vaccinated against pertussis (whooping cough) as an outbreak took place in neighboring Jefferson County.
One of the best ways that parents can protect their children’s health is to follow the childhood immunization schedule and stay up-to-date on their own immunizations.
The Oswego County Health Department can help parents determine which vaccines they and their children need to stay healthy.
The Oswego County Health Department offers immunization clinics from 9 to 11 a.m. on the first and third Fridays of the month at the H. Douglas Barclay Courthouse in Pulaski and from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. every Friday at the Nick Sterio Public Health Clinic, 70 Bunner St., in Oswego.
For more information about vaccinations, talk to your healthcare provider or call the Oswego County Health Department at 349-3547 or 1-800-596-3200, ext. 3547.
Visit oswegocounty.com/health/immunization.html for more details.
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