Vaccines offered during Infant Immunization Week, April 18-25

In observance of National Infant Immunization Week, April 18-25, McHenry County Department of Health encourages parents to talk to their child's doctor to ensure that their infant is current on immunizations.

They offer the Vaccines for Children program to individuals 18 years or younger that have Medicaid, or are uninsured, underinsured, an American Indian or Alaskan native.

Two vaccination clinics will be offered during National Infant Immunization Week - the first at the MCDH Woodstock office from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, April 18, at 2200 N Seminary Ave., Building B, and at the Crystal Lake office from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, April 24, at 100 N. Virginia St.. Call (815) 334-4536 to schedule an appointment or to see if your child qualifies.

"National Infant Immunization Week provides a valuable opportunity for our community to tell people how important it is for children to be vaccinated," said Mike Hill, MCDH's Public Health Administrator. "Childhood vaccinations are one of the best ways for parents to protect their children against vaccine-preventable diseases."

Vaccines are among the most successful and cost-effective public health tools available for preventing disease and death. Continued vaccination is necessary to protect not only children but entire communities by preventing and reducing the spread of infectious diseases.

Because of the success of vaccines in preventing disease, parents may not be aware of the serious diseases they prevent such as measles, mumps, and whooping cough. These diseases can be especially serious for infants and young children. Even when diseases are rare in the U.S., they can be brought into McHenry County, putting unvaccinated children at risk. One example of the seriousness of vaccine-preventable disease is the recent increase in measles cases in 2015 (17 states) as well as outbreaks of whooping cough (pertussis) that have been reported in a majority of states in the last few years.

McHenry County reported a record number of pertussis cases in 2011-12 (469), 76 cases of pertussis and four cases of mumps in 2013 and 57 cases of pertussis, 27 cases of chickenpox, two cases of mumps and 10 cases of Hepatitis B in 2014.

Call MCDH at (815) 334-4500 for information on vaccines or the VFC program. To learn more about National Infant Immunization Week or to view the 2015 childhood vaccination schedule, visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines.