This past weekend, Vaccinate Your Family (VYF) lost a beloved colleague and close friend. Rich Greenaway, our Director of Operations and Special Projects, passed away unexpectedly at his home on Sunday. Rich was a committed champion of vaccinations and a superlative human being who dedicated more than two decades of his life to protecting people of all ages from vaccine-preventable diseases. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him. Read more about Rich’s life and contributions to the immunization community: https://shotofprevention.com/2019/08/16/vaccinate-your-family-mourns-the-loss-of-rich-greenaway/

Check out this blog from Dr. Angela Shen, ScD, MPH that was published in Health Affairs. The blog discusses the recent measles outbreaks and the value of vaccines.

AVAC Blog Spotlight: Amy Pisani, Vaccinate Your Family As major measles outbreaks in New York, California and elsewhere continue to spread, along with the spread of whooping cough, mumps, hepatitis A and hepatitis B, you may wonder how an organization such as Vaccinate Your Family, founded thirty years ago on the heels of a massive outbreak of measles, is dealing …

AVAC Spotlight Dara Lieberman, MPP, Trust for America’s Health As Director of Government Relations at Trust for America’s Health, Dara Alpert Lieberman oversees the development and implementation of federal government relations strategies and works to advance and implement TFAH’s policy priorities. Through her leadership of the organization’s advocacy around infectious disease prevention, disease surveillance, and strengthening the nation’s public health …

AVAC Spotlight: Andrea Polkinghorn, Sanford Health, Sioux Falls, SD Andrea Polkinghorn believes that you’re never too old to get vaccinated. Children, adolescents, and adults all need vaccinations to keep our communities healthy. As we age, childhood vaccinations begin to wear off, leaving adults susceptible to serious and potentially life-threatening diseases. She knows that it’s imperative that when it comes to …

HEALTHY PEOPLE 2030 Over the past several decades, the Healthy People immunization and infectious disease objectives have been a cornerstone to national efforts to protect against vaccine preventable conditions across the lifespan. For example, the goal for flu vaccine coverage for adults 18 and over is 70% but the actual rate is closer to 45%, while the goal for pneumococcal …

In 2009, Serese Marotta lost her five-year-old son Joseph to H1N1 flu. Despite her devastating loss, Serese soon joined the Board of Directors of Families Fighting Flu (FFF), an advocacy organization that includes families, healthcare professionals, and other advocates dedicated to increasing flu education and prevention, so that she could help other families with similar experiences. Today, she is the …

Please join us for a Hill exhibit of the Smithsonian Outbreak project on October 1st through October 5th in the Russell Senate Office Building Rotunda And join Sabrina Sholts, Smithsonian Curator of Outbreak, for a conversation about Outbreak at 4:30 p.m. on October 2nd   For more information, contact sdevito@nvgllc.com More about Outbreak: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/exhibits/outbreak/ Sponsored by:    

Check out the full NAVP_eNewsletter here. Advocates in Washington promote many different issues and causes. All face one question, regardless of the topic: Why is this important? For vaccines, establishing their importance in health begins with education. It hasn’t been that many years since deadly infections were the diseases people feared in the way we fear cancer or heart attacks. …

During National Immunization Awareness month, we are proud to spotlight Sarah Irsik-Good and the Kansas Foundation for Medical Care (KFMC), for their efforts to promote awareness and utilization of adult vaccines all year round. As the current President and CEO of KFMC Sarah Irsik-Good leverages her nearly 20 years of experience in healthcare delivery systems to encourage adult immunizations throughout …