Childhood vaccinations have long been an area of concern for public health officials as well as teachers and administrations in the public school system of the United States due to the fact that many contagious diseases which caused rampant death in earlier eras have been eradicated thanks to early childhood immunization regimens. A new educational program is now being launched to help remind the public about the importance of these campaigns and it it will be launched on April 24, the start of National Infant Immunization Week. The program is being called Protect Tomorrow and is set to push the message out that infants and children are at far greater risk to contract diseases of a communicable nature if not given vaccines. These infectious diseases can lead to extended stays in the hospital, permanent impairment and also death. The American Academy of Pediatrics is the group responsible for the public service announcement style campaign and insists that the pros of getting vaccines for young children are well documented in scientific studies.
Despite the fact that vaccines have such a strong history of effectiveness, a full 25% of US children between 19 and 35 months have not received the series of vaccines designed for early childhood that are suggested for their age group according to data from the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention in 2008. A Dr Alanna Levine who heads up the program went on to say that the goal of the program is to push parents to get their kids vaccinated in order to protect their future health.
