Adolescent Immunization Action Week (#AIAW23) is here! Held April 3–7 in 2023, #AIAW23 is an annual observance urging parents, healthcare providers, and adolescents to help keep adolescents up to date on immunizations. During the pandemic, many adolescents missed out on critical vaccinations. Concerted efforts are needed now to close this gap. The Unity Consortium created tools to help healthcare providers spread messages to parents, adolescents, and young adults. Materials include ready-to-use graphics, a video, communication tools, and social media materials. Use the hashtag #AIAW23 to spread the word.



Unity's podcast, FACTSinnated, released a new episode for #AIAW23 titled The Importance of Adolescent and Young Adult Voices with Dr. Paul Offit. Listen to vaccine expert, Paul Offit, MD, share ways to help teens find accurate information and use their voice to be their own best advocate. Tune in as he discusses the importance of empowering adolescents in decisions about their health.

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The American Public Health Association (APHA) coordinates National Public Health Week (NPHW) on April 3–9. This year, the observance celebrates the unique and joyful ways various cultures focus on health. We can learn from each other, with humility and openness.  



The NPHW toolkit and social media shareables make it fun and easy to promote healthy behaviors and raise awareness in your community.

Related Links

• National Public Health Week 2023 website 
• NPHW: Toolkit main page
• NPHW: Shareables for Social Media main page

Spotlight: Check out Immunize.org's companion websites

On the Immunize.org home page, you can link to several of our helpful companion websites.

Vaccine Information You Need at www.vaccineinformation.org was launched by Immunize.org in partnership with CDC to help inform the public. This website provides hundreds of valuable resources, including personal testimonies of suffering due to vaccine-preventable diseases, videos, public-service announcements, and educational materials from trusted organizations.

Information about the National Network of Immunization Coalitions, a project of Immunize.org, can be found at www.immunizationcoalitions.org. This website compiles information on more than 100 immunization coalitions and their topics of shared interest.

The National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit (NAIIS) website at www.izsummitpartners.org addresses practical immunization issues to improve coverage. With more than 900 members, NAIIS represents more than 130 public and private organizations. The NAIIS is led by members of the Summit Organizing Committee, including Immunize.org, CDC, and other federal representatives. 

MenACWY: You’re Not Done If You Give Just One at www.give2menacwy.org supports a national campaign produced by Immunize.org and Sanofi to improve protection from disease caused by meningococcal serogroups A, C, W, and Y. The site offers information for families and resources for providers to boost on-time delivery of both doses of the MenACWY vaccine.

65+ Flu Defense at www.influenza-defense.org is a public health service produced by Immunizeorg and Seqirus. The website offers tools and resources to help protect patients 65 and older, each of whom are at greater risk of influenza complications.

These recent articles convey the potential risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and the importance of vaccination.

• The Guardian: We Must Continue to Guard against the Anti-vaccine Movement (3/28/23)
• Gothamist: Health Workers in NYC Describe Confusion, Errors in Early Days of Asylum Seeker Vaccine Clinics (3/28/23)
• The Guardian: In a Sceptical Era, Understand This: Vaccines Do Work–and Our Children Need Them (3/27/23)
• New York Times: We Have Cutting-Edge Science to Make Vaccines. But Will Everyone Benefit? (3/26/23)

National Minority Health Month (NMHM) is observed in April to highlight the importance of improving the health of racial and ethnic minorities and reducing health disparities. The theme for NMHM 2023 is "Better Health through Better Understanding," focusing on providing culturally and linguistically competent information and resources. 



The Montgomery County (Pennsylvania) Immunization Coalition (MCIC) offers a social media toolkit with social media images and sample text to help you encourage your communities to stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccines during NMHM. The toolkit can be found in six languages: English, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Nepali, and Spanish. 

Please feel free to share the toolkit and resources widely.

Vaccinate Your Family (VYF) released its annual State of the ImmUnion report, distributed to policy makers in Washington, DC. The report examines the strength of our country’s defenses against vaccine-preventable diseases. Notably, it points out what we can do to make our country more resilient against emerging health threats.

Please take a moment to ask your representatives for strong support of vaccines. Share the most recent State of the ImmUnion report by using VYF’s form to send quick and easy emails to members of Congress from your district. You also can share one of VYF's state fact sheets that will help your lawmakers understand the importance of strong vaccination policies in your specific state.

CDC published JYNNEOS Vaccination Coverage among Persons at Risk for Mpox—United States, May 22, 2022–January 31, 2023 on March 31 in MMWR. A portion of the summary appears below. 

JYNNEOS vaccine is effective in preventing monkeypox (mpox) among persons at risk. . . .

During the current multinational outbreak, U.S. 1- and 2-dose vaccination coverage reached an estimated 37% and 23%, respectively, among persons at risk, with wide variation among jurisdictions. The predominant administration route switched from subcutaneous to intradermal after the week of August 20, 2022, in accordance with Food and Drug Administration recommendations. . . .

Despite administration of >1 million vaccine doses, only 23% of the at-risk population has been fully vaccinated. Targeted outreach and continued access to and availability of mpox vaccines to persons at risk is important to help prevent and minimize the impact of a resurgence of mpox.



Access the MMWR article in HTML or PDF.

Related Link

• MMWR's main page provides access to MMWR Weekly and its companion publications