Cites need for continued education and awareness for vaccine-preventable diseases
Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller (D-6th) today announced that her resolution designating August as Immunization Awareness Month in Cook County will be addressed at tomorrow’s Cook County Consent Calendar Board Meeting. Commissioner Miller said, “The resolution declaring August Immunization Awareness month in Cook County is ceremonial, but the intent is anything but, as we have seen preventable life-threating diseases rear their ugly head 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, and prevent us from spending large amounts of money on treating them” said Commissioner Miller, adding “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 (CDC), for every $1 spent on childhood vaccinations, our country 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.
“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” said Miller.
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