Announcement: National Infant Immunization Week — April 16–23, 2016

Weekly / April 15, 2016 / 65(14);384

National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW), April 16–23, 2016, will focus attention on the role of immunization in protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases. When NIIW was established approximately 20 years ago, immunization programs were facing significant challenges. The nation was in the midst of a serious measles outbreak, and communities across the United States were experiencing decreasing immunization rates among children.

Since 1994, hundreds of communities across the country have joined together each year during NIIW to promote infant immunization. Although immunization coverage among children has increased, recent outbreaks of measles in the United States underscore the importance of maintaining high immunization rates in every community.

During NIIW, local and state health departments, national immunization partners, and health care professionals will conduct parent outreach, clinician education activities, and other events to highlight the positive impact of vaccination on the lives of infants and to call attention to immunization achievements. To support these efforts, various promotional and educational materials are available from CDC on the NIIW website (www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/).

The United States celebrates NIIW in conjunction with World Immunization Week (April 24–30), the World Health Organization’s initiative to promote and advance equity in the use of vaccines. The recipients of the annual CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award, which recognizes local contributions to public health through work in childhood immunizations, will be announced during NIIW.

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Suggested citation for this article: Announcement. National Infant Immunization Week — April 16–23, 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:384. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6514a6 .