The transition from summer to fall is a great time to take action and protect your health by getting vaccinated, the process that leads to immunization so that you are protected from diseases. The goal of National Immunization Awareness Month in August is to reinforce the value of immunizing for an entire lifetime. Healthcare workers are even more at risk for exposure to serious diseases in their work environment and should get relevant vaccines to lower the chance of getting or spreading vaccine-preventable diseases. Below is a list of resources available about immunization.
Vaccine Quiz – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created this quiz to find out if you have received all of the vaccines you need. link
HealthMap Vaccine Finder – Many vaccines are available from pharmacies. Enter an address or zip code to find what is available nearby: link
Easy-to-read Schedules – Print these out and keep track of you or a child’s office visits: link
International Travel – Traveling out of the country? WUSM Student & Occupational Health Services (SOHS) has a vaccination guide to help you stay immunized: link
Tools for Parents – Most parents choose the safe, proven protection of vaccines and are vaccinating their children. According to a 2014 survey taken by the CDC, 88.9% of parents reported that they are vaccinating according to schedule or are intending to do so. Parents are encouraged to talk to their health care professionals about their vaccine-related questions and concerns. There are also extensive guides on the CDC’s website: link
Flu Shots – Many healthcare providers require employees to be vaccinated against the flu annually. The shots are typically available on campus in early fall. BJC HealthCare hosts a Flu Shot Clinic for the community: link WUSM students and staff can check SOHS’s Influenza Vaccine schedule here: link
Shots Immunizations 2015 – This point of care tool provides a quick reference for immunization schedules for children and adults. It is available both online and as a mobile device app. It includes the unified CDC childhood and adolescent schedule, catch-up schedule, adult schedule, and adult medical indications schedule: link
Patient Hand-outs – The CDC provides print materials to convey immunization messages to patients. Below is an example of flyers to encourage patients to get vaccinated, both for general vaccinations and for the flu.
E-Books – If you are interested in delving more deeply into the topic of vaccines and immunization, the library has many e-books that are accessible from your computer or mobile device while on a WUSM network. They can be found in our catalog: link
WUSM Research – Washington University School of Medicine is very involved in immunization research. Here in the Scopus database you will find a list of articles about immunization and vaccination written by WUSM faculty (note: you must be on the WUSM internet network to access this database): link You can also explore many open access articles through Becker Medical Library’s Digital Commons: link
Vaccines and Evidence-Based Medicine – And finally, here is a recent Becker Brief explaining the history and importance of vaccination: link