National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM), held in August, is an annual observance to promote the importance of vaccination for people of all ages. To facilitate local support of this national awareness effort, the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) developed a communications and messaging toolkit for each week of NIAM 2018:
- Back to School (July/August)
- Pregnant women (August 5-11)
- Babies and young children (August 12-18)
- Preteen/Teen (August 19-25)
- Adults (August 26-31)
The toolkits include key messages, vaccine information, sample news releases and drop-in articles, sample messages for Facebook and Twitter (#NIAM18), and web links and resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other partner organizations. You can download the toolkits individually by clicking the themes above, or access the entire month-long toolkit here. Digital graphics (e.g., website, social media) and print materials are also available for download.
The range of suggested activities ensures that any local health department, regardless of size or resource availability, can take action. If you plan to participate in NIAM, check out this list of 10 ways to get involved and complete this online form to share your activities.