The New Jersey Department of Health is highlighting the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases and celebrating the achievements of immunization programs and individuals in promoting healthy communities during National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW). The Department supports public health agencies and health care providers as they host special events throughout New Jersey.
“Giving infants the recommended immunizations by age two is the best way to protect them from 14 serious childhood diseases, like whooping cough and measles,” Commissioner Dr. Shereef Elnahal said. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommended immunization schedule is designed to protect babies early in life, when they are vulnerable and before it’s likely that they will be exposed to diseases.”
Each year, the CDC and the CDC Foundation honor individuals in each state who make a significant contribution toward improving public health through their work in childhood immunization. This year Dr. Jeffrey M. Bienstock from PediatriCare Associates was awarded the Childhood Immunization Champion Award for his creation and implementation of an annual seasonal influenza carnival. Dr. Bienstock and his staff vaccinated more than 1,100 children and families this year—a record since the inception of the carnival in 2013.
“Young children rely on the champions in their lives to keep them safe and healthy,” Elnahal said. “When families, healthcare professionals and public health officials work together, children win by being protected from serious and deadly vaccine-preventable diseases.”
The Department also promoted the flu vaccine this year through its Fight the Flu NJ campaign. The Commissioner and senior staff made a series of visits to hospitals, nursing homes, health centers, rehab facilities and county health departments to promote flu vaccination. In addition, healthcare facilities were recognized as Public Health Innovators for doing a good job vaccinating employees.
Through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program the Department provides access to help uninsured and underinsured children get their vaccines according to the recommended immunization schedule. This has contributed directly to a substantial increase in childhood immunization coverage levels, making a significant contribution to the elimination of disparities in vaccination coverage among young children. In 2017, the New Jersey VFC program provided about 1.6 million doses of vaccines to providers throughout the state.
Pregnancy is a good opportunity to start learning about the safe, proven disease protection that vaccines will provide to their babies once they are born. Pregnant women should also plan on receiving the flu and Tdap (whooping cough) vaccines during each pregnancy. Pregnant women should get a dose of Tdap vaccine during the third trimester of each pregnancy between 27 and 36 weeks, preferably during the earlier part of this time period. This will help protect babies from whooping cough until they can receive their first whooping cough vaccine at 2 months.
New Jersey has reached the Healthy People 2020 target of 90 percent for polio, measles, mumps, rubella (MMR), hepatitis B, and varicella vaccination coverage for children aged 19-35 months.
Despite the success of immunizations, vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks still occur. For example, the United States experienced a record number of measles cases during 2014, with 667 cases from 27 states. This is the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000. Currently, New Jersey has no cases of measles for 2018, but had two cases in 2017 due to international travel.
“I encourage parents to talk to their pediatrician to ensure that their baby is up to date on immunizations, especially before traveling internationally,” Commissioner Elnahal said. “Even when diseases are rare in the U.S., they can still be common in many parts of the world.”
Additional information and resources to prepare for NIIW can be found on the CDC web site at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/index.html.
To view the list of 2017-2018 New Jersey Influenza Honor Roll Awardees, visit http://www.nj.gov/health/cd/vpdp.shtml.
For additional information about NIIW and the Childhood Immunization Champion Award, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/champions/index.html
Follow the New Jersey Department of Health on Twitter @njdeptofhealth, Facebook /njdeptofhealth, Instagram @njdeptofhealth and Snapchat @njdoh.
