When I was headed off to college, I was required to submit all of my immunization records. It should have been a simple process of mailing in the paperwork (no email in those days) and going about my academic business.
Instead I was called into the campus health clinic because there was a problem with my records. One of my vaccinations appeared to have been given to me months before I was born. Logically and logistically, that was most certainly a problem.
The most likely explanation is that administering nurse had written the wrong year in my records when I received my shots at approximately 18 months of age. It didn’t matter to the health clinic, though. They needed to know I was immunized and so at the age of 17, I received another round of my childhood vaccines.
We often don’t think much about immunization much past our childhood. Even now it’s become a choice for many parents as to whether or not they vaccinate their child. In the developed world, we have the privilege of making those decisions for our children. But the reality is that immunization affects us all globally and at every stage of our life.
August is National Immunization Awareness Month and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has partnered with the National Public Health Information Coalition to educate every age on the important of vaccines:
- A Healthy Start: Babies and Pregnant Women
- Back To School: Children, Pre-Teens, & Teens
- Off To College: Young Adults
- Not Just For Kids: Adults
Additionally, Shot@Life, a part of the UN Foundation that is supported by Johnson & Johnson, is raising global awareness for immunizations with its second annual Blogust campaign. Blogust is a month-long digital dialogue where 31 influential online writers share personal stories about every stage of childhood.
Throughout the month, comments left on each story will result in a donation of a life-saving vaccine (up to 50,000) by Walgreens Pharmacy to give children around the world a shot at life.
As a former Blogust participant and Shot@Life Champion, I’m a strong advocate for eradicating vaccine-preventable diseases. Take the time to educate yourself, protect yourself and your children, and make a difference for another child in the world.
Fadra Nally is a Communications Specialist for Johnson & Johnson. When she’s not working, she’s mothering a precocious 6 year old in the suburbs of Baltimore, MD. In her spare time, she writes all.things.fadra, one of the Top 100 Mom Blogs for 2012 according to Babble.com. She’s also the co-founder of Charitable Influence.