Today kicks off National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW), a yearly observance of the importance of vaccinating children two years and younger. NIIW runs April 25-May 2, 2020 as part of World Immunization Week, a World Health Organization Initiative. NIIW highlights major achievements in the control of vaccine-preventable diseases and brings attention to the challenges that remain. An overview of NIIW can be found here.
The CDC’s NIIW hub provides a wide variety of resources for healthcare professionals to use during this week. The Digital Media Toolkit has social media messages, content, and materials for your practice to share. These include graphics pre-sized for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. In addition, the Toolkit has flyers, posters, infographics, and videos.
If you’ve been waiting for the right time to focus on building a culture of immunization in your practice, NIIW might be it! The CDC has a wealth of resources to help including a presentation on 10 Ways to Create a Culture of Immunization Within Our Pediatric Practice. This slide deck can be customized for your practice, and it comes complete with notes and guidance.
Sanofi Pasteur also has a helpful resources for creating a culture of immunization called Developing an Immunization Culture in Your Office. This handout breaks down broad ideas concerning immunization culture into succinct, actionable bullet points.
NIIW is also a good time to review educational resources on immunization. The CDC provides resources for healthcare providers and for parents. The resources for providers equip healthcare professionals with the answers to many vaccine-related questions from parents. These include webinars, articles, printable resources, and social media content. In addition, providers can use the hub Provider Resources for Vaccine Conversations with Parents. These materials were created by the CDC, AAP, and AAFP.
We hope that your practice will take some time this week to reflect on the importance of infant immunizations and the profound impact these vaccines have had in reducing vaccine preventable diseases. Happy National Infant Immunization Week!