Georgia Coastal Health District

As adults, getting vaccinated is one of the most important and easiest things we can do to protect our health–yet not enough of us do it. Vaccine-preventable diseases kill more American adults each year than HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, or traffic accidents.

A vaccination you may not know about protects against a common infection called pneumococcal disease. Pneumococcal disease can strike quickly and lead to death in just a few days. Each year, there are more than half a million cases annually, and thousands of Americans die from pneumococcal disease.
Some adults are more likely to get pneumococcal disease or have a more serious illness from it. That includes everyone age 65 and older and adults age 19-64 with heart, liver, or lung disease; diabetes; asthma; HIV/AIDS; and other conditions that affect the immune system; smokers; and alcoholics.
If you fall into one of these categories, you should be vaccinated, even if you consider yourself healthy. According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), too many adults nationwide are unprotected from this infection.
Vaccination is a critical part of staying healthy at any age. To receive the best protection against pneumococcal and other deadly diseases, it’s important for adults to contact their local health department or personal healthcare professional to talk about which vaccines are right for them.
Pneumococcal disease can be very serious and treatment may require hospitalization. Some patients may need weeks or months to recover before returning to normal activities. Getting vaccinated is the safest and most effective way to protect oneself. Even if vaccination does not prevent the infection, it can help reduce its severity, helping to keep you out of the hospital.
For more information on getting the pneumococcal or any other adult vaccinations, please contact your local health department.
Want to know more about pneumococcal disease?
Click here: NFID Pneumococcal Fact Sheet for Adults [PDF]
Want to know what vaccines you need and when?
NFID Adult Vaccination Tracker and Guide for Patients_2014 [PDF]
Photo courtesy of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

What is public health? It’s helping people quit tobacco. It’s inspecting restaurants for potential causes of foodborne illness. It’s the prevention and treatment of HIV. It’s watching for signs of disease outbreaks. It’s making sure that residents who are most vulnerable are evacuated before a hurricane. It’s educating mothers-to-be on the importance of breastfeeding. It’s protecting children against diseases that can be prevented. It’s all of that and much more. Public health touches every life at one time or another. National Public Health Week (NPHW), April 7 – 13, is a time to spread the news about the value of public health.

“Public health continues to grow and evolve but preventing disease and promoting healthy communities will always be our goal,” said Diane Z. Weems, M.D., Health Director for the Coastal Health District.
NPHW 2014 will have daily themes:
Monday, April 7: Be Healthy from the Start
Public health starts at home. From family nutrition and maternal health to safety precautions and disaster preparedness, the first step the community takes toward public health are in the comfort of their own home.
Tuesday, April 8: Don’t Panic
Public health professionals help communities withstand the impact of a natural or manmade disaster by planning ahead, acting as a source of information during the crisis and helping to mitigate the long- and short-term effects.
Wednesday, April 9: Get Out Ahead
Prevention is now a nationwide priority, and as the public health system evolves, there are more options than ever when it comes to preventive health measures.
Thursday, April 10: Eat Well
The system that keeps our nation’s food safe and healthy is complex. Public health professionals can help guide people through their choices.
Friday, April 11: Be the Healthiest Nation in One Generation
For the first time in decades, the current generation isn’t as healthy as the one that came before. Communities need to band together to take a stance against this disturbing trend to make sure that children and young adults have bright, healthy futures.
For more information on the services offered at health departments in Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, Long, and McIntosh counties, click HERE.

Say YES to protecting your daughter against cervical cancer by making sure she gets the HPV vaccine. This is a safe and effective vaccine given in a series of 3 shots over about a six month period. If your daughter is age 11 years or older, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM) recommends you vaccinate now to protect her against cervical cancer. Already, 35 million doses of HPV vaccine have been distributed across the country–but that is not enough.

About 20 million people, most in their late teens and early 20s, are infected with HPV, the type of virus that causes cervical cancer. That’s why it’s important to protect preteen and teen girls early through vaccination.
“We have an entire generation of girls we could protect against cervical cancer,” says Dr. Anne Schuchat, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “What most parents might not realize is that while cervical cancer might not be a household name, every year 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 4,000 die. If we can protect girls now, we could drastically reduce these numbers.”
You can use any visit, like an appointment for a camp or sports physicals, to ask your doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or clinic about the shots your kids need. When you go in for your daughter’s first shot of HPV vaccine, don’t leave without making an appointment for the next shot. Ask the doctor’s office or pharmacy to send you a text, email, or phone reminder. Involve your daughters in a reminder system–they probably know how to set up an electronic reminder better than you do!
Many parents don’t realize that vaccines don’t end once your child starts school–preteens and teens still need vaccines. As they get older, girls and boys are at increased risk for some infections. Also, the protection provided by some childhood vaccines begins to wear off.
There are three vaccines recommended for preteens starting at age 11-12, including Tdap (the tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis vaccine), HPV vaccine, and meningococcal vaccine. Preteens and teens should also get a flu vaccine, which is recommended for everyone 6 months of age and older, every year. If you have an older kid like a teen, it’s not too late to get shots they’ve missed. HPV vaccine requires more than one dose. That’s where some parents get bogged down–it’s easy to get very busy with school, activities, work, and all of the juggling that parents of preteens and teens do every day.
There is assistance for families that may need help paying for vaccines. If you don’t have insurance, or if it does not cover vaccines, the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program may be able to help. This program provides vaccines at no cost to doctors who serve eligible children. Children younger than 19 years of age are eligible for VFC vaccines if they are Medicaid-eligible, American Indian or Alaska Native, or have no health insurance.
Like millions of moms and dads across the country, you can protect your daughters from cervical cancer.
For more information, visit the CDC web site just for you: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/teens