“Vaccinate Your Family” Focuses On Vaccines Throughout the Life Span
Dec 14, 2015

Screen Shot 2015-12-14 at 11.18.56 AMToday, in anticipation of its 25-year anniversary, Every Child By Two (ECBT) announced the expansion of its original mission of ensuring timely vaccination of all children by the age of two, to now include the importance of ensuring timely vaccination of people of all ages.

Through successful collaborations with national, state and local immunization partners since the organization’s inception in 1991, ECBT has made enormous strides towards removing immunization delivery barriers; reducing ethnic and racial disparities; educating the public about the importance of timely immunizations and the safety of vaccines; and supporting the development of sound public health policies.

Every Child By Two Executive Director Amy Pisani explains,

“As the science evolved and evidence that young children can be further protected through vaccination of pregnant women, adolescents and adults, our Board of Directors recognized the need to expand the official mission of the organization. We simply could not reach our goal of protecting our nation’s young children unless we also focused on protecting their families, caregivers and other close contacts.”

PD_0006Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, Every Child By Two’s Co-founder and President adds,

“As our 25-year anniversary approaches in 2016 it is the perfect time for our Board to assess the successes of the past and reassess where our goals should be focused in the coming years. We have achieved so much over the past 25 years, but until people of all ages are protected from vaccine-preventable diseases, we cannot rest.

As part of its expanded mission, ECBT also announced that their popular Vaccinate Your Baby (VYB) website and Facebook page (which reaches nearly seven million followers annually), has been replaced with the new Vaccinate Your Family website and Vaccinate Your Family Facebook page

Changing the names will help in ECBT’s efforts to educate people of all ages about the importance of vaccinating  against a number of diseases that will impact them at different times throughout their lives.

Screen Shot 2015-12-14 at 11.06.49 AM

With the introduction of the new Vaccinate Your Family program, families can now go to ECBT’s social media platforms or the new website (VaccinateYourFamily.org) to obtain information about vaccines needed for pregnant women, children, adolescents and adults.

The new website, created specifically for the public, houses scientifically-accurate information on vaccines needed at each stage of life; details about the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases; answers to questions about the safety of vaccines; and personal stories from families who have been affected by deadly, but preventable infectious diseases.

Additionally, with the launch of this new initiative, ECBT is highlighting a number of new resources to promote the importance of vaccinating grandparents against influenza and whooping cough (also known as pertussis) in an effort to protect those too young to be fully vaccinated, and those who may be immune-compromised.Toolkit promo_Twitter-05

Rosalynn Carter explains the importance of the new initiative when she says,

“Vaccinating against these diseases will not only keep adults healthier, but will also help protect the whole family, including vulnerable newborns who are at higher risk of serious complications from these diseases. Since many grandparents have a personal connection to the vaccine-preventable diseases that used to gravely affect our society, they can also remind their adult children why we must remain vigilant in our efforts to vaccinate all family members.”

Amy Pisani adds,

“No one wants a loved one to be the victim of any illness, but it is especially heartbreaking to lose someone we love, or watch them suffer from a disease that could have been prevented through timely vaccination.  Every Child By Two strives every day to ensure that no more families suffer the loss of a loved one due to a preventable disease.  We take our mission very seriously.”

We hope you will visit the new Vaccinate Your Family website and let us know what you think.  You can also join the conversation on our Vaccinate Your Family Facebook page.

 


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