The Florida Department of Health in Polk County (DOH-Polk) recognizes April 24-30, 2016 as World Immunization Week. This event promotes vaccines as a tool to protect people from diseases. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) campaign this year will focus on “Closing the immunization gap--Immunization for all throughout life.”

“Vaccines remain a person’s best defense against many types of diseases” says Dr. Joy Jackson, Director of DOH-Polk. “Vaccines are very safe and severe effects from them are extremely rare.”

Every year, 2-3 million deaths are prevented because of immunizations. Getting vaccinated is a person’s first line of defense against diseases such as polio, measles, mumps, rubella, influenza, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis.

However, 1 in 5 children (22.6 million), and many adults, miss out on getting vaccinated every year. Many people do not get vaccinated because they do not understand the importance of them.

The Department encourages all Polk residents to get vaccinated. DOH-Polk provides immunization services at the following locations: Auburndale Clinic, Bartow Specialty Care Clinic, Haines City, Lakeland Clinic, and Lake Wales Clinic.

For more information on immunizations or services, visit https://polk.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/clinical-and-nutrition-services/immunizations/index.html.

For more information about the WHO campaign or World Immunization Week, visit http://www.who.int/campaigns/immunization-week/2016/en/.

For more data on immunizations, visit https://www.cdc.gov/features/worldimmunizationweek/.