OSWEGO COUNTY – The Oswego County Health Department marks April 24 to 30 as National Infant Immunization Week. This is a good time to remind parents and the community of the important role childhood immunizations play in keeping kids and communities healthy.

“Immunizations have drastically reduced infant disability and deaths from vaccine-preventable illnesses in the U.S.,” said Anna Reitz, immunization coordinator for the Oswego County Health Department. “They can now protect infants and children from 14 vaccine-preventable diseases before the age of two.”

Some vaccine-preventable diseases, like pertussis (whooping cough) and chickenpox, remain common in the United States, while other diseases are no longer common in this country because of vaccines. It’s important to remember that if vaccinations were to stop, even the few cases left in the U.S. could very quickly become thousands of cases.

Vaccines help protect both individuals and communities by preventing and reducing the spread of infectious diseases. Among children born from 1994 to 2018, vaccination will prevent an estimated 419 million illnesses, 26.8 million hospitalizations, and 936,000 deaths over their lifetimes. 

“Vaccines are safe,” said Oswego County Public Health Director Jiancheng Huang. “The U.S. has a long-standing vaccine approval process that ensures vaccines are safe and effective.”

Most parents choose to vaccinate their children according to the recommended schedule. But some parents may still have questions about vaccines. Trust in vaccines is built through conversations between parents, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and community members. 

National Infant Immunization Week provides an opportunity to encourage vaccine conversations at all community levels. “Well-child visits and vaccinations are an important way to keep children healthy, it’s vital that parents have conversations with a trusted health care provider about the vaccines recommended for their children and to stay on track with routinely recommended vaccines and well-child visits,” said Reitz.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many people heeded the warnings to stay home and limit travel outside of the home to essential travel. An unfortunate consequence of this was a decline in the number of well-child visits to health care providers and immunizations administered to children.

“The COVID-19 pandemic caused some infants and children to miss or delay routinely recommended vaccinations,” stated Reitz. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children stay on track with their well-child appointments and routine vaccinations.” 

For more information about childhood vaccines or to schedule an appointment for vaccines for you or your children, call the Oswego County Health Department at 315-349-3547. Clinics are held every Tuesday and appointments are required.