The Public Health Nursing division provides health promotion, disease prevention and health education services to Fayette County. Some of the programs and services available are described below.
We have many pamphlets, videos and magazines available covering a wide range of health topics, including:
Immunization Information
Disease prevention is the key to public health. It is always better to prevent a disease than to treat it. Vaccines prevent disease in the people who receive them and protect those who come into contact with unvaccinated individuals. Vaccines help prevent infectious diseases and save lives. Vaccines are responsible for the control of many infectious diseases that were once common in this country, including polio, measles, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), rubella (German measles), mumps, tetanus, and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib).
Our children's immunizations are provided free of charge through the Indiana Vaccines For Children Program. Click here to see the recommended schedule for childhood and adolescent vaccinations.
Fact sheets on common vaccinations are available from the Centers for Disease Control's web site at www.cdc.gov
Why Are Childhood Vaccines So Important?
It’s true that newborn babies are immune to many diseases because they have antibodies they got from their mothers. However, the duration of this immunity may last only a month to about a year. Further, young children do not have maternal immunity against some vaccine-preventable diseases, such as whooping cough.
If a child is not vaccinated and is exposed to a disease germ, the child’s body may not be strong enough to fight the disease. Before vaccines, many children died from diseases that vaccines now prevent, such as whooping cough, measles, and polio. Those same germs exist today, but babies are now protected by vaccines, so we do not see these diseases as often.
Immunizing individual children also helps to protect the health of our community, especially those people who are not immunized. People who are not immunized include those who are too young to be vaccinated (e.g., children less than a year old cannot receive the measles vaccine but can be infected by the measles virus), those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons (e.g., children with leukemia), and those who cannot make an adequate response to vaccination. Also protected, therefore, are people who received a vaccine, but who have not developed immunity. In addition, people who are sick will be less likely to be exposed to disease germs that can be passed around by unvaccinated children. Immunization also slows down or stops disease outbreaks.
Immunization Schedule
Immunizations are offered three days each month at the Health Department
First Wednesday of each month -- 1:00-4:15 pm
Second and fourth Wednesdays -- 9:00-11:45 am and 1:00 to 4:15 pm
Vaccine Motto
Love Them, Protect Them, Immunize Them
Vaccine Safety Information for Parents
Vaccines are safe.
Vaccines are held to the highest standard of safety. The United States currently has the safest, most effective vaccine supply in history. Years of testing are required by law before a vaccine can be licensed. Once in use, vaccines are continually monitored for safety and efficacy.
Each person is unique and may react differently to immunization.
Occasionally, people who receive a vaccine do not respond to it and may still get the illness the vaccine was meant to protect them against. In most cases, vaccines are effective and cause no side effects, or only mild reactions such as fever or soreness at the injection site. Very rarely, people experience more serious side effects, like allergic reactions. Be sure to tell your health care provider if you have health problems or known allergies to medications or food.
Severe reactions to vaccines occur so rarely that the risk is difficult to calculate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continually work to make already safe vaccines even safer. In the rare event that a child is injured by a vaccine, he or she may be compensated through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). For more information about VICP visit www.hrsa.gov/osp/vicp/ or call 1-800-338-2382.
Not vaccinating your child? Be aware of the risks
Immunizations, like any medication, can cause side effects. However, a decision not to immunize a child also involves risk. It is a decision to put the child and others who come into contact with him or her at risk of contracting a disease that could be dangerous or deadly. Consider measles. One out of 30 children with measles gets pneumonia. For every 1,000 children who get the disease, one or two will die from it. Thanks to vaccines, we have few cases of measles in the U.S. today. However, the disease is extremely contagious and each year dozens of cases are imported from abroad into the U.S., threatening the health of people who have not been vaccinated and those for whom the vaccine was not effective. Unvaccinated children are also at risk from meningitis (swelling of the lining of the brain) caused by Hib (a severe bacterial infection), bloodstream infections caused by pneumococcus, deafness caused by mumps, and liver cancer caused by hepatitis B virus.
Are vaccines tested and monitored for safety?
Yes. Before vaccines are licensed, the FDA requires they be extensively tested to ensure safety. This process can take 10 years or longer. Once a vaccine is in use, the CDC and FDA monitor its side effects through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Any hint of a problem with a vaccine prompts further investigations by the CDC and FDA. If researchers find a vaccine may be causing a side effect, the CDC and FDA will initiate actions appropriate to the nature of the problem. This may include the changing of vaccine labels or packaging, distributing safety alerts, inspecting manufacturers’ facilities and records, withdrawing recommendations for the use of the vaccine, or revoking the vaccine’s license. For more information about VAERS, visit www.vaers.org or call the toll-free VAERS information line at 1-800-822-7967.
For a quick reference sheet on key vaccine safety elements, an explanation of VAERS, and "what happens when rare, adverse events are detected?", consult the Surveillance and Vaccine Safety fact sheet.
Who should not be vaccinated?
Some people should not get certain vaccines or should wait to get them. For instance, children with compromised immune systems, as occurs with cancer patients, often need to wait to be vaccinated. Similarly, if a person has had a severe allergic reaction to a vaccine, she or he should not receive another dose. However, a person with a mild, common illness, such as a cold with a low-grade fever, does not have to wait to be vaccinated. Ask your health care provider for more information.
What should be done if someone has a reaction to a vaccine?
Call a doctor. If the person is having a severe reaction get him or her to a doctor right away. After any reaction, tell your doctor what happened, the date and time it happened, and when the vaccination was given. Ask your doctor, nurse, or health department to file a VAERS form, or call VAERS yourself at 1-800-822-7967.
Tell me more.
Please call the CDC National Immunization Information Hot Line at any time. Also, explore other areas of the CDC's immunization website www.cdc.gov/nip for the most current and reliable information on vaccine safety.
CDC National Immunization Information Hot Line
English: 800-232-2522
Español: 800-232-0233
For more information on vaccines and vaccine safety see:
Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) at www.immunize.org
National Network for Immunization Information at www.immunizationinfo.org
