August is National Immunization Awareness Month!

Any time is a good time for immunizations, but August is dedicated to raising awareness of immunizations.  The first week of August is set aside to concentrate on young adults off to college.  You’ve seen your kids through birth, seen them grow through kindergarten and high school.  But, they still need vaccines, and it’s not time to let up.  Here are some helpful tips:

• As kids get older, they are more at risk for catching diseases, like meningococcal meningitis, so they need protection that vaccines provide.
• Put cancer prevention on your back to school checklist. HPV vaccine can prevent the types of HPV that can cause cervical cancer in girls, anal cancer in boys, and genital warts in both boys and girls.
• Everyone older than 6 months of age is recommended to receive a yearly flu vaccination, and older children are no exception!  It’s important to know that flu can be serious, even for healthy young people. So all kids should get at least one flu shot every year.

We can all do our part in supporting National Immunization Awareness Month!