Persons using assistive technology might not be able to fully access information in this file. For assistance, please send e-mail to: mmwrq@cdc.gov. Type 508 Accommodation and the title of the report in the subject line of e-mail.
Notice to Readers: National Infant Immunization Week, April 25--May
1, 2004
National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) is April 25--May 1, 2004. This year's theme is "Vaccination: an Act of
Love. Love Them. Protect Them. Immunize Them." This event emphasizes the importance of timely infant and
childhood vaccination. Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to protect children, especially infants and young children, from potentially serious diseases.
Because of increased vaccination efforts in the United States, incidences of the majority of vaccine-preventable diseases
have decreased approximately 99% from peak prevaccine levels
(1). In 2003, a total of 42 measles cases, one diphtheria case, and
no wild poliovirus cases were reported (2,3). Approximately 11,000 infants are born each day in the United States; they
need approximately 20 doses of vaccine before age 2 years to protect them from 11 vaccine-preventable diseases
(4). Although vaccination coverage levels are high for children of preschool age, approximately 1 million children aged 2 years are missing >1 recommended vaccine dose
(5).
During NIIW, states and approximately 500 communities in the United States will sponsor activities highlighting the need
to achieve and maintain high childhood vaccination coverage rates. Special events, including provider education activities,
media events, and immunization clinics also are planned along the United States--Mexico border in collaboration with the
United States--Mexico Border Health Commission. In addition, CDC and its partners will debut a new public service
campaign consisting of a 30-second public service announcement (PSA) in English and Spanish, a Spanish video news release, Spanish and English text for live radio PSAs, and posters and print ads in Spanish and English. NIIW is being held in conjunction
with Vaccination Week in the Americas, scheduled for April 24--30. That event, sponsored by the Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO), will promote childhood immunization and access to health services concurrently in all countries in the
Western Hemisphere. Additional information about NIIW and childhood vaccinations is available from CDC's
National Immunization Program at http://www.cdc.gov/nip or the
National Immunization Information Hotline, telephone
800-232-2522 (English) or 800-232-0233 (Spanish). Information on Vaccination Week in the Americas is available from PAHO at
http://www.paho.org.
CDC. National, state, and urban area vaccination coverage levels among children aged 19--35 months---United States, 2001. MMWR 2002;51:664--6.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
Disclaimer
All MMWR HTML versions of articles are electronic conversions from ASCII text
into HTML. This conversion may have resulted in character translation or format errors in the HTML version.
Users should not rely on this HTML document, but are referred to the electronic PDF version and/or
the original MMWR paper copy for the official text, figures, and tables.
An original paper copy of this issue can be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402-9371; telephone: (202) 512-1800.
Contact GPO for current prices.
**Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to
mmwrq@cdc.gov.
