Protect Your World. Get Immunized.
National Immunization Awareness Week: April 21 - 28, 2012

The City of Toronto proclaims April 21 – 28, 2012 as National Immunization Awareness Week. Toronto Public Health joins others across Canada in promoting immunization awareness. NIAW 2012 is an annual event sponsored by the Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness. The World Health Organization is sponsoring World Immunization Week and the Pan American Health Organization is promoting Vaccination Week the Americas. Together with NIAW, these events aim to increase the public's immunization awareness and practice.

You can protect yourself and those around you by getting immunized. All of us need to be immunized regardless of age. Under-immunized adults and children are at risk of contracting diseases and can infect others. Only a century ago, many infectious diseases caused illness, disability and death for many people in Canada. Today, the rates of these diseases have been drastically reduced due to immunization.

To protect the population, Ontario recently expanded the publicly funded immunization schedule to include the new rotavirus vaccine, a new combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine, two doses of varicella and an adult dose of whooping cough containing vaccine for those who missed their teenage booster.

Parents, protect your children by getting them immunized according to the immunization schedule. Report your school-aged child's immunization to Toronto Public Health.

Resources:

NIAW News Release April 20, 2012

Mayor's Proclamation National Immunization Awareness Week April 21 – 28, 2012

Canada celebrates the world's first World Immunization Week 2012

Toronto Public Health

• Child Immunization Pamphlet (PDF)
• Childhood Immunization Coverage in Toronto 2009 Board of Health Report (PDF)
• Report from the Medical Officer of Health on Inequalities and Immunization Rates in Toronto School Children (PDF)

Public Health Agency of Canada pamphlet: A Parent's Guide to Immunization (PDF)

Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness and Promotion

• National Immunization Awareness Week 2012 campaign and posters

To order pamphlets and posters call Toronto Health Connection at 416-338-7600.

More resources:

• The Canadian Immunization Guide Comparison of the Effects of Diseases and Vaccines
• Adult Immunization Schedule (PDF)
• Vaccination Week in the Americas (Pan American Health Organization)
• World Immunization Week 2012 (World Health Organization)

For more information about immunization call the Immunization Information Line at 416-392-1250.

Last updated April 2011