Community Immunity: This Is About All Of Us.
Our greatest responsibility is to be good ancestors.” – Jonas B. Salk, virologist and medical researcher, developed one of the first successful polio vaccines.
August is National Immunization Awareness Month highlights the importance of vaccinations for people of all ages. A vaccine helps your body’s immune system learn how to fight the germs that cause disease by creating an immune response without potentially severe illnesses or fatal outcomes of being infected. It is a great time to check your vaccination status and schedule any vaccinations or boosters you or your family may need. The best way to protect yourself is to get vaccinated.
Beyond your family, being vaccinated increases your community’s immunity. It protects the most vulnerable people, from infants and young children to seniors or immunocompromised people who may not be able to get a vaccine, from getting sick. By keeping your vaccinations up-to-date, you decrease the chance of getting sick yourself, but you also decrease the chance of spreading preventable diseases to others. This helps to safeguard your neighbor, your coworker, and the extended members of your community. Additionally, by being vaccinated, you help prevent the resurgence of dangerous diseases like measles, rubella, whooping cough, and smallpox, and help reduce the burden on our healthcare workers, hospitals, and public health system.
The Fred T. Korematsu Institute was proud to partner over four years with the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) – working to spread the word about the power of vaccines and to lessen the impacts COVID-19 in communities and on daily life. We were particularly keen to share appropriate safety measures, dispel any misinformation about the vaccine and COVID-19, and reach out to racial and ethnic minority groups that may be underserved and undervaccinated due to language or access barriers or even xenophobia.
We continue this important advocacy work. Fred T. Korematsu said, “Stand up for what is right and don’t be afraid to speak up.” He promoted and encouraged civic participation and would support vaccinations today to protect our youth, elders, and families with community immunity. This is about more than one of us. This is about more than one healthy child or grandparent. This is about all of us.
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*You can learn more about the science and studies behind the COVID-19 vaccine at the CDC website here: LINK (https://www.cdc.gov/covid/vaccines/benefits.html)
You can learn more about the science and studies behind the flu vaccine at the CDC website here: LINK (https://www.cdc.gov/flu-vaccines-work/benefits/index.html)
***You can find out what vaccines your family needs at the Vaccinate Your Family website: LINK (https://vaccinateyourfamily.org/which-vaccines-does-my-family-need/