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Uncategorized > National Immunization Awareness Month

National Immunization Awareness Month

Published on: August 5, 2014

Adults Need Vaccines, Too!

Taken inside a clinical setting, this qualified nurse had just administered a dosage of Fluzone® intradermal influenza virus vaccine to a male clinic patient, using the patient’s right shoulder region as the injection delivery site. At this point in the procedure, as she still held the prefilled syringe in her gloved right hand, the nurse had deployed the syringe’s needle-shielding system, sheathing the needle in a plastic barrel, thereby, preventing anyone from reusing this device. (CDC/ Douglas Jordan, M.A.)
Taken inside a clinical setting, this qualified nurse had just administered a dosage of Fluzone® intradermal influenza virus vaccine to a male clinic patient, using the patient’s right shoulder region as the injection delivery site. At this point in the procedure, as she still held the prefilled syringe in her gloved right hand, the nurse had deployed the syringe’s needle-shielding system, sheathing the needle in a plastic barrel, thereby, preventing anyone from reusing this device. (CDC/ Douglas Jordan, M.A.)

Barnstable County Public Health Nurses Celebrates National Immunization Awareness Month

Every year, thousands of adults in the United States suffer serious health problems, are hospitalized, or even die from diseases that could have been prevented by vaccination.

To celebrate the importance of immunizations throughout life – and to help remind adults that they need vaccines, too – Barnstable County Dept. of Public Health is recognizing August as National Immunization Awareness Month. This is the perfect opportunity to make sure adults are protected against diseases like flu, whooping cough, tetanus, shingles, and pneumococcal disease.

The specific vaccines adults need are determined by factors such as age, lifestyle, risk conditions, locations of travel, and previous vaccines. All adults should talk to their health care providers about which vaccines are right for them.

“There is a misconception among many adults that vaccines are just for kids,” said Deirdre Arvidson RN, BSN. “The truth is, you never outgrow the need for immunizations.”

To find out which vaccines might be right for you and where you can get vaccinated, call Barnstable County Public Health Nursing Division at 508-375-6617  or visit  www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults.