Cook County commissioners have designated August as Immunization Awareness Month.
The resolution was presented in July to the county board by 6th District Commissioner Donna Miller. She represents Homewood and parts of Flossmoor on the Cook County Board.
“August is National Immunization Awareness Month, which is also back-to-school time and so it makes perfect sense to coincide this resolution with these events to help get the word out, and encourage everyone to remind their family, friends and coworkers to stay up to date on their shots,” Miller said.
“The resolution for August Immunization Awareness in Cook County is ceremonial, but the intent is anything but,” Miller stressed. “We have seen preventable life-threating diseases rear their ugly heads again throughout the country, and so continued education, and making people aware of the importance of keeping up to date on their vaccines, is vitally important.”
“In addition to saving lives, vaccines provide major cost savings by preventing serious infectious diseases,” which reduces spending on treatment, she noted. “As the operator of one of the largest public health systems in the country, Cook County government and our health system bears a large portion of the economic burden of treating preventable diseases.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for every $1 spent on childhood vaccinations the U.S. saves $10.10, and vaccines given to children born between 1994-2016 will prevent an estimated 381 million illnesses, 24.5 million hospitalizations, 855,000 deaths and $1.65 trillion in total societal costs.