Does Your Back-to-School Checklist Include Vaccination?

"From newborns to college, you can help protect your children from 16 serious diseases by getting them vaccinated. Make sure your kids get any needed vaccines before the back-to-school rush!

As a parent, making sure your children are vaccinated on time is an important step toward ensuring their long-term health. Vaccination also helps protect the health of classmates, friends, relatives, and others in the community.

By following the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule for your children, you help protect them from disease outbreaks:

• 2017-2018 was a high severity flu season with record breaking levels of influenza-like illness and hospitalization rates. CDC reported 176 flu-related deaths in children through June 30th. This set the record for the highest number of flu-related deaths in children reported during a single flu season. Approximately 80% of these deaths occurred in children who had not received a flu vaccination this season.
•  In 2014, The United States experienced 667 reported cases of measles in 27 states. That’s the greatest number of cases since measles elimination was documented in the U.S. in 2000. From January 1st to June 16th, 2018, 93 people from 19 states were reported to have measles.
• Outbreaks of whooping cough can occur at middle and high schools as protection from childhood vaccines fades. In 2016, there were 17,972 reported cases of whooping cough in the U.S., down from 2012’s 57-year high of 48,277 cases..."
  Back-to-school vaccination