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Media Release Release Date: April 17, 2002 Rosann Doran
City and County of Broomfield Public
Information Office
One DesCombes Drive
·
Broomfield,
CO 80020 · (303) 438-6308
Contacts:
Public Information Officer
303.438.6308
Broomfield joins celebration
of National Infant Immunization Week
The City and County of Broomfield Public Health Division has joined communities across the state in celebrating National Infant Immunization Week with events focusing on this year’s theme: "Hepatitis Prevention…ABC: Always Best for Your Child."
Parents are encouraged to contact the Public Health Division at the City and County of Broomfield at 720-887-2200 for information on children’s immunizations. Clinics are held on Tuesdays from 1 to 4:30 p.m. and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to noon.
"One of the most important things parents can do for their children is to make sure they have all their shots," says Carol McDonald, Broomfield Public Health Nurse.
Children need a full series of vaccinations against 11 serious diseases—hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella (German measles), diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, haemophilus influenza type B (Hib disease), varicella (chicken pox) and pneumococcal infections. Most shots can be given in five health-care visits before age two.
Hepatitis is a virus that causes swelling of the liver. The message that is being emphasized in Colorado this year in conjunction with NIIW is that serious liver disease from hepatitis A and B can be prevented in children with safe and effective vaccinations.
Starting at birth, children need three doses of hepatitis B vaccine by the time they are 6 months of age. Kids 2 years of age and older need two doses of hepatitis A vaccine. No vaccine is available to prevent hepatitis C. Colorado requires that children be fully immunized for hepatitis B when they enter school or daycare. Only about 70 percent of pre-schoolers are currently immunized for hepatitis B.
Colorado is a state at moderate risk for hepatitis A. Vaccination is recommended for children 2 years of age and older, but is not required for school entry.
NIIW is held annually in April to focus attention on the importance of proper immunizations for infants and toddlers. Communities across the country use this week to increase awareness of safe, effective, and recommended vaccines by distributing information at public places; canvassing neighborhoods; holding immunization fairs; creating new partnerships with businesses and community groups; and, when possible, increasing access to immunization services by expanding clinic hours.