Georgia Coastal Health District

Let’s face it – nobody likes getting shots. But a shot lasts a second; diseases last much longer.

In an effort to protect every adult and child, the Georgia Department of Public Health established Georgia Preteen Vaccine Awareness Week, observed February 22-28, 2015, to serve as a reminder for parents to talk with their preteens and teens about getting immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases.

“Our Preteens teens are branching out. They go to overnight camps, attend parties and play team sports – they are becoming increasingly social. While these are all fun parts of being a teenager, they can also increase their risk for contracting potentially life-threatening diseases,” said Sheila Lovett, acting director for the Georgia Department of Public Health Immunization Office. “Let’s help our children grow and protect them every way we can – including their future health and those around them with immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases.”

According to the Georgia  Department of Public Health Rule (511-2-2), all students born on or after January 1, 2002, entering or transferring into seventh grade and any “new entrant” into eighth -12th grades in Georgia need proof of an adolescent pertussis (whooping cough) booster vaccination (called “Tdap”) AND an adolescent meningococcal vaccination (MCV4). This law affects all public and private schools including, but not limited to charter schools, community schools, juvenile court schools and other alternative school settings (excluding homeschool).

Vaccines are the best defense we have against serious, preventable and sometimes deadly contagious diseases. They help avoid expensive therapies and hospitalization needed to treat infectious diseases like influenza and meningitis. Immunizations also reduce absences both at school and after school activities and decrease the spread of illness at home, school and the community.

The CDC currently recommends the following vaccines for preteens and teens:

·         Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis (Tdap)

·         Influenza (flu)

·         Human Papillomavirus (HPV) – three doses

·         Meningococcal Disease (MCV4)

Georgia Preteen Vaccine Awareness Week is an opportunity to raise awareness through schools, health care providers and the media regarding preteen immunizations, particularly Georgia’s new pertussis and meningococcal requirements for incoming seventh-grade students. Speak with your physician today to find out if your preteen is up-to-date and if not, make a date to vaccinate.

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is held every year in early February to promote HIV education and testing in black communities. To commemorate National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 2015, this A free HIV testing event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, February 27, at the Chatham County Health Department located at 1395 Eisenhower Drive in Savannah. All testing is completely confidential and no appointment is necessary.

Did you know? …

When we look at HIV/AIDS by race and ethnicity, Blacks have more illness (Blacks represent only 12% of the U.S. population, yet account for 44% of new HIV infections and 44% of people living with HIV disease in 2006); and more deaths (Blacks accounted for 57% of deaths due to HIV in 2007 and the survival time after an AIDS diagnosis is lower on average than it is for most other racial/ethnic groups).  In 2009, Blacks accounted for 44% of all new HIV infections.

The AIDS diagnosis rate per 100,000 among Black adults/adolescents was 8 times that of whites in 2008.  The AIDS diagnosis rate for Black men (103.6) was the highest of any group, followed by Latino men (45.5), and Black women (38.1).  By comparison, the rate among white men was 8.7.  The rate of new infections is also highest among Blacks and was 7 times greater than the rate among whites in 2006.

Among the U.S. population overall, Blacks are more likely than Latinos or whites to report having been tested for HIV in the last 12 months (45% compared to 30% and 14% respectively).  Among those who are HIV positive, CDC data indicate that 33% of Blacks were tested for HIV late in their illness—that is, diagnosed with AIDS within one year of testing positive for HIV (in those states/areas with HIV name reporting); by comparison, 30% of whites and 36% of Latinos were tested late.

In 2009, an estimated 16,741 Blacks were diagnosed with AIDS diagnosis in the US, a number that has slowly decreased since 2006.  By the end of 2008, an estimated 260,800 Blacks with an AIDS diagnosis had died in the US. In 2009, HIV was the ninth leading cause of death for all Blacks and the fourth leading cause of death for both Black men and Black women aged 25–44.

The number of new HIV infections per year among Blacks is down from its peak in the late 1980s, but has exceeded the number of infections among whites since that time; new infections have remained stable in recent years.

A recent analysis of 1999–2006 data from a national household survey found that 2% of Blacks in the U.S. (among those ages 18–49) were HIV positive, significantly higher than whites (0.23%). Also, the prevalence of HIV was higher among Black men (2.64%) than Black women (1.49%).

At some point in their lifetimes, 1 in 16 Black men will be diagnosed with HIV infection, as will 1 in 32 Black women.

From 2005–2008, the rate of HIV diagnoses among Blacks increased from 68 per 100,000 persons to 74 per 100,000. This increase reflects the largest increase in rates of HIV diagnoses by race or ethnicity.
Of all Black men living with HIV/AIDS, the primary transmission category was sexual contact with other men, followed by injection drug use and high risk heterosexual contact.
Of all Black women living with HIV/AIDS, the primary transmission category was high risk heterosexual contact, followed by injection drug use.
Of the estimated 141 infants prenatally infected with HIV, 91 (65%) were Black (CDC, HIV/AIDS Reporting System, unpublished data, December 2006).

There are approximately 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S, including more than 500,000 who are Black.

If you didn’t know, now you do!