Did You Know? August is National Immunization Month

Are your kids headed back to school?

Public health officials in Cook County say there is no better time to get their vaccinations up to date.

“As parents we do everything we can to keep our children safe and healthy, protecting them from vaccine preventable diseases should be no different,” said Cook County Department of Public Health interim COO Sandra Martell said in a statement. “Many young parents have not witnessed the devastating impact of vaccine preventable diseases. A child without the immunity that comes from being vaccinated is more likely to contract a communicable disease such as pertussis or measles and put others at risk of becoming infected.”

The CCDPH says new Illinois Department of Public Health rules require students entering sixth and ninth grades to show proof of having received the Tdap vaccine booster shot for continued protection against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. According to the CCDPH:

This newly required Tdap booster will help protect students and those around them, including infants, who are too young to be fully vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in infants younger than 1 year of age who get pertussis, more than half will be hospitalized and of those hospitalized, 1 in 5 will get pneumonia. For infants who are too young to be fully vaccinated, a pertussis infection may be fatal.

More information on vaccines and vaccine schedules can be found at www.cookcountypublichealth.org