Immunizations/Vaccinations

WIG Webinar: Getting Back to Routine Vaccinations - Link to recording and event resources

August is immunization awareness month. As communities re-open and schools resume in-person instruction, join us to learn how parents and providers are working together to get children and adolescents caught up on routine immunizations interrupted during the pandemic and how policymakers can help.

Featured guests: 

Moderator: Washington State Representative Cindy Ryu, Chair, Women In Government Board of Directors
Washington Congresswoman Kim Schrier, MD (W-08)
Amy Pisani, MS, Executive Director, Vaccinate Your Family
 

Catch Up Immunizations Media Tour - Listen now!

It's a word we hear every day, "vaccination." However, this time it’s not for COVID-19, instead, the 26-million estimated missed vaccine doses for preventable diseases and infections like chickenpox, shingles, measles, and hepatitis B.
According to new analysis, vaccination rates plummeted during the pandemic which could have a dramatic effect on our nation's health. Dr. Karen Smith, MD, was named 2017 National Family Physician of the Year by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). She explains why now is the time to catch up on recommended immunization schedules. For more information, visit your doctor or healthcare provider, CDC.gov, and www.WomenInGovernment.org.
 

Featured Guests:

Dr. Karen Smith, MD, FAAFP

Resources:

WIG Podcast: You're Never Too Old: The Importance of Adult Vaccination - Listen now! 

(Transcript with Hyperlinks)

Vaccines are not just for children. Adults can be protected from 14 deadly diseases - including Hepatitis A and B, Measles, and the Flu. According to the CDC, over 20 years, vaccines will prevent more than 700,000 deaths and 21 million hospitalizations. On this episode of the Women In Government Podcast, our panel discusses how vaccines save lives. They dive into many aspects of adult vaccination - including benefits, consequences, and all the barriers keeping people from getting immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases.

Featured guests: 

Moderator: Laura Blake, Outreach & Development Manager, Women In Government
Abby Bownas, Manager, Adult Vaccine Access Coalition
Adriane Casalotti, MPH, MSW, Chief, Government and Public Affairs at National Association of County & City Health Officials
 

WIG Podcast: Don't Hesitate, Vaccinate! - Listen NOW!

There are many reasons why people choose to vaccinate their families against preventable diseases. Vaccination promotes good public health and helps avoid a major disease outbreak. That’s something we saw this year, with several measles outbreaks in large communities across the country. Measles may have dominated the headlines, but other vaccine-preventable diseases infected people of all ages… chickenpox, whooping cough, and tetanus. The previous flu season even stretched well into the spring. Today, there is a lot of misinformation circulating about the safety and necessity of vaccines, as well as fears about autism and the number of vaccines administered at once. As a result, vaccine-preventable diseases have resurged in the United States, with measles and influenza continuing to be an enormous national problem every year. On this episode of the Women In Government Podcast, our panel discusses vaccine confidence and delivers the important message of, Don't Hesitate, Vaccinate!
Moderator: Patti Bellock, served in the Governor's cabinet in Illinois as the director of the HealthCare and Family Services Agency and retired from serving as the first woman in the history of Illinois to be the deputy minority leader in the House of Representatives

Featured Guests:

Moderator: Patti Bellock, served in the Governor's cabinet in Illinois as the director of the HealthCare and Family Services Agency and retired from serving as the first woman in the history of Illinois to be the deputy minority leader in the House of Representatives
Georgia State Senator, Gloria Butler. Senator Butler is the highest-ranking female in the Georgia Senate
Dr. Deborah Wexler, executive director, of the national nonprofit organization, the Immunization Action Coalition
Elaine O’Hara, chief commercial officer at Sanofi Pasteur
Erica DeWald, director of advocacy at Vaccinate Your Family, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect people of all ages from vaccine-preventable diseases

Additional Resources:

State Immunization Program Websites

https://www.immunize.org/states/

State Immunization Program Phone Numbers

http://www.immunizationmanagers.org/?MemPage

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/why-vaccinate/index.html

Immunization Action Coalition

https://www.immunize.org/

Vaccinate Your Family

https://www.vaccinateyourfamily.org/

Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center

WIG PODCAST: You’re Never Too Old: The Importance of Adult Vaccination- Listen NOW!

Moderator: Laura Blake, Outreach & Development Manager, Women In Government
 
Featured Guests:
Abby Bownas, Manager, Adult Vaccine Access Coalition
Adriane Casalotti, MPH, MSW, Chief, Government and Public Affairs at National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
 

WIG Podcast: Influenza Vaccination- Listen NOW!

Are you ready for this year’s flu season? Each year, three to five million cases of severe flu are reported worldwide. Depending on the virus, influenza associated deaths can range from 290,000 to over 650,000 people. Last year, the number of those infected with the flu in the United States skyrocketed to levels we haven't seen in more than a decade.

Is our country prepared for this year’s flu season? What is being done to protect our health in the medical and pharmaceutical communities? Are your state leaders on the front line and ready to battle the 2018 flu bug? And, what can you do to protect your family’s health?

Join Moderator and Alaska State Representative Geran Tarr, as we find out who is most at risk of contracting the flu and what is the most effective defense against the virus.

“If you’ve seen one flu season…you’ve seen one flu season.” That’s because season influenza evolves constantly, is unpredictable, disruptive, and too often deadly.

Featured Guests:

Kansas State Senator, Dr. Barbara Bollier

Monica Mercer, MD, Director, Scientific and Medical Affairs at Sanofi Pasteur

Elaine O’Hara, Chief Commercial Officer at Sanofi Pasteur

Additional Resources:

CDC Influenza Resources

Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices—United States, 2018–19 Influenza Season

National Institutes of Health- Foil the Flu