Special Report on the State of the ImmUnion Sent to Congress
Feb 28, 2017

1.  Support critical public health funding.

Having an adequate public health budget ensures that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the states and the territories are all prepared to:

• respond to existing and emerging vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks,
• conduct community outreach,
• educate providers and the public
• maintain immunization registries, and
• provide vaccine services to the community.

The report highlights the success of vaccines and discusses the economic and societal saving that occur as a result of a well-vaccinated population.

Unfortunately, federal vaccine appropriations have not met the levels requested in annual justification reports from the CDC, and state appropriations are nearly non-existent. This has resulted in a loss of personnel and the disbanding of several highly effective statewide coalitions which had supported immunization efforts for decades.

Additionally, if and when the Affordable Care Act is repealed, nearly $600 million in funds that currently support the CDC and state immunization activities may be eliminated. You can learn more about the critical funding issues  here, and if you want to ensure legislators reallocate these funds, take a moment to add your name to Every Child By Two’s Vaccine Funding Support Statement here. 

2.  Support the science behind vaccines and the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule.

The public must be continually reassured that the timing of vaccines is carefully considered prior to CDC recommendation, and that vaccine safety is heavily monitored with pre and post licensure procedures. There are many disproven myths about the safety of vaccines and we need immunization champions who are well-informed and ready to respond to concerns with evidence-based responses. This report includes specific resources that can be helpful in addressing vaccine safety and policy concerns and even provides links to state specific immunization rates.

3.  Join your local immunization coalition to see how you can work to advance the State of the ImmUnion in your local area.  

Learn more about the vaccination rates in your state, and the impact vaccine-preventable diseases are having there, by accessing the resources cited in the State of the ImmUnion report, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics’ interactive map and the CDC’s VaxView.  If you want to connect with other immunization advocates in  your state, simply send an email to us at info@ecbt.org and we can help connect you with your local immunization coalition.

4.  Communicate directly with your state and federal legislators to encourage them to support a strong State of the ImmUnion. 

Whether you call, email or Tweet your state and federal legislators, grab their attention by including any of the informative graphics from this special report.  Simply include a link to the PDF report of the 2017 State of the ImmUnion along with some of the images we’ve compiled in our  State of the ImmUnion social media toolkit and you’ll be helping to get the message out.  (And don’t forget to tag @ShotofPrev in your tweets so we can help amplify your message.)

Every Child By Two’s Vaccinate Your Family campaign is an initiative aimed at raising awareness of the critical importance of vaccines across the lifespan.  We are encouraged by the actions of so many devoted immunization champions all across the nation, and we hope you will join our efforts to ensure a strong “State of the ImmUnion”.  Be sure to subscribe to our Shot of Prevention blog, like our Vaccinate Your Family Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter at @ShotofPrev to continue to receive updates on how you can join us as a voice for positive change!