A joint program of Texas Medical Association

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A joint program of Texas Medical Association
TMA Alliance Funded by a grant from TMA
Foundation Be Wise Immunize is a service mark
of the Texas Medical Association.
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Immunization Protects Texans!

• Immunization is necessary.
• Immunization is safe.
• Immunization is effective.
• Immunization works!

The vaccine is one of medicines greatest
achievements.
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What is a Vaccine?

• A killed or weakened infectious organism used to
  prevent disease.

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What is a Vaccination?

• An injection of a vaccine in order to prevent
  the disease. Similar to natural infection but
  without risk of disease.

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What is Immunization?

• The process by which a person or animal becomes
  protected or immune against a disease.

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Vaccinations
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• Immunization is Necessary

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National Immunization Survey
Based on levels for the 431 vaccine series
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Immunization is Necessary

• Texas children are getting severely ill and
  dying from diseases that could have been
  prevented had the child been immunized And
  whats even more tragic is that Texas
  vaccination numbers are running counter to the
  national trend.
• - TMA President Robert T. Gunby Jr., MD

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Vaccine Preventable Diseases
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Diphtheria

• Spreads through direct contact with an infected
  person
• Sore throat, fever, chills, difficulty swallowing
• Can lead to suffocation, paralysis, heart
  failure, coma, or death

Photo courtesy Centers for Disease Control
Prevention
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Tetanus

• Enters the body through cuts, punctures, or other
  wounds from dirt or feces of animals
• Muscle rigidity in mouth, jaws, arms, legs,
  stomach severe convulsions difficulty opening
  mouth, swallowing
• Leads to broken bones from muscle spasms
  breathing problems/lung infections coma and
  death

Photo Courtesy Centers for Disease Control
Prevention
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Pertussis (Whooping Cough)

• Spreads very easily through coughing and sneezing
• Coughing spasms with a "whooping sound
  difficult to get air
• Can lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, or
  death

Photo courtesy World Health Organization
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Haemophilus influenza type b

• Spreads via contact, entering through nose and
  throat
• Fever, severe headache, sore throat, breathing
  problems
• Can lead to brain damage, seizures, paralysis,
  septicemia, hearing loss, and death

Photo courtesy American Academy of Pediatrics
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Polio

• Spreads via contact with feces, lives in throat
  or intestines
• Fever, muscle pain, paralysis, headache
• Can lead to severe illness, paralysis,
  deformities, and death

Photo Courtesy World Health Organization
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Measles

• Spread via coughing, sneezing, or talking
• Small white spots inside the mouth, rash from
  face to feet
• Can lead to pneumonia, ear infections, brain
  damage, seizures, and death

Photo courtesy Centers for Disease Control
Prevention
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Mumps

• Spreads through coughing, sneezing,or talking to
  an infected person
• Swollen cheeks or jaws, fever, headaches
• Can lead to brain damage, deafness, and sterility
  in men

Photo courtesy Centers for Disease Control
Prevention
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Rubella

• Spreads through coughing, sneezing, or talking to
  an infected person, or from mother to baby during
  pregnancy
• Head-to-toe rash with mild fever
• Can lead to birth defects, deafness, blindness,
  and mental retardation
• An infant born with rubella can be contagious as
  long as one year after birth.

Photo courtesy American Academy of Pediatrics
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Chickenpox

• Spreads very easily through coughing, sneezing,
  or contact with an infected persons sores
• Itchy rash with up to 500 sores and blisters,
  fever, and sore throat
• Can lead to brain damage, lung damage, or death

Photo courtesy American Academy of Pediatrics
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Pneumococcus

• Spreads via breathing, contact, or exchange of
  bodily fluids
• Most-common invasive bacterial infection in
  children
• Leads to meningitis, bloodstream infections, and
  pneumonia

Photo courtesy American Academy of Pediatrics
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Smallpox

• Represents one of the most serious bio-terrorist
  threats to the civilian population most
  devastating of all the infectious diseases.
• Spread very easily through coughing, sneezing,
  contact with person, clothing, bedding, etc.
• Physically disfiguring and highly fatal no known
  cure.
• Last reported case in the world 1977

Photo Courtesy World Health Organization
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Immunization is Necessary

• When immunization rates fall, epidemics occur
  because disease-causing viruses and bacteria
  still exist in nature.
• Whooping cough, chickenpox, and other diseases
  still exist in the U.S., causing serious illness
  and even death.

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Immunization is Necessary

• Through global travel, U.S. citizens are exposed
  to diseases prevalent in other countries.
• Immunizing protects the health of children who
  cannot be vaccinated, such as children with
  weakened immune systems and children younger than
  2 months of age.

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Immunization is Necessary
A Disease Is More Than an Illness

• Diseases impact the physical health of
  individuals
• Discomfort of illness, permanent disability,
  death
• Diseases also impact the economic health of a
  community
• Missed school
• Missed work
• Risk to others

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Immunization is Necessary
Who Needs to be Immunized?

• Everyone needs to be current on their
  immunizations
• Especially infants children
• By 15-18 months children need a minimum of
• 4 doses diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine
• 3 doses poliovirus vaccine
• 1 dose of a measles-containing vaccine
• Flu vaccine
• In addition to childhood vaccines, some new
  vaccines are recommended for adolescents

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• The Good News is
• Immunization is
• Effective Safe

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Immunization is Effective
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Immunization is Effective
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Immunization is Effective
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Immunization is Effective
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Immunization is Effective
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Chicken-Pox Vaccine Cuts Cost For Hospital Care,
Study Shows
Chicken-Pox Vaccine Cuts Cost For Hospital Care,
Study Shows
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Immunization is Safe
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Immunization is Safe

• Benefits outweigh risks
• Best defense against disease
• Extensive testing to ensure safety
• Commitment to safer and effective vaccines

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Immunization is Safe
The Facts about Safety Concerns

• Does immunization cause SIDS? NO
• Research shows no link between vaccines and SIDS
• Does immunization cause autism? NO
• Evidence does not support a causal link between
  vaccines and autism
• Does immunization contain toxic doses of
  thimerosal or mercury? NO
• Today, vaccines manufactured for the U.S. market
  contain no thimerosal or only trace amounts

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Immunization Works!
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Immunization Works
Success Story

• Reduction of diseases
• Eradication of diseases
• Consequence of success
• Less concerned about disease risk
• More concerned about vaccine safety

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Immunization Works
How can you help?

• Timely age-appropriate immunizations
• Talk to your doctor
• Register in ImmTrac
• Keep immunization records safe and accessible

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Immunization Protects Texans!

• Those of us old enough to remember the iron
  lungs of polio and the ravages of whooping cough
  need to make sure they dont come back to strike
  our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
  TMA Past President, Bohn Allen, MD

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Immunization Protects Texans!

• Immunization Protects
• You
• Your children
• Your family
• Communities
• Everyone

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For More Information

• Be Wise Immunize
• www.texmed.org/bewise
• Texas Department of State Health Services
• www.immunizetexas.com
• CDC National Immunization Program
• www.cdc.gov/nip
• The American Academy of Pediatrics Immunization
  Initiatives
• www.cispimmunize.org

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For More Information

• The Group on Immunization Education of the
  Society of
• Teachers of Family Physicians
• www.immunizationed.org
• Vaccine Check
• www.vaccinecheck.com
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• www.hhs.gov/children/index.shtml
• World Health Organization Immunization Safety
• www.who.int/immunization_safety/en/

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For More Information

• Common Concerns about Vaccines and Vaccines
  Safety
• www.vaccine.chop.edu
• Frequently Asked Questions on Childhood Vaccines
• www.immunizationinfo.org/parents/faq.cfm
• Institute of Medicine
• Immunization Safety Review Vaccines and Autism
  Report
• www.iom.edu/report

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Immunization Protects ALL Texans!
Remember

• Immunization is Necessary!
• Immunization is Safe!
• Immunization is Effective!
• Immunization Works!