August is Immunization Awareness month! It’s a good time to review vaccine status for yourself and for children. It’s especially important for children planning on attending school. Currently in our TriCounty Health District, the adequate immunization percentage is 79.3% for kindergarten students and 83.5% for 7th grade students. These percentages are below targets for many diseases, such as measles (95%) or tetanus, pertussis and diphtheria (90%). By vaccinating against common deadly diseases, our entire Basin community can achieve herd immunity.
What is Herd Immunity? Below is an excerpt from a fascinating article from historyofvaccines.org.
“The story of herd immunity begins with animals. In the early 1900s, scientists studying livestock noticed that when most animals in a herd survived a disease, the whole group became safer. This observation led to the term “herd immunity.” By the 1920s, researchers like Topley and Wilson tested the idea in lab mice, showing that diseases couldn’t spread easily if enough mice were immune.
Later, doctors realized this concept applied to humans too. For example, when many people in a community recovered from measles or polio, outbreaks became smaller. But relying on natural infections was risky—many people died or suffered lifelong disabilities. Vaccines changed everything. Starting with smallpox in the 18th century, vaccines allowed people to gain immunity without getting sick, making herd immunity safer and more effective.”
Be sure to check your vaccine records this month to make sure you are up to date on your immunizations. If you’re not sure how to do that, here are a list of 4 things you can do from our local TriCounty Health department.
Not sure when your last vaccine was? You can request your immunization records four ways:
- Contact your healthcare provider. Most healthcare providers in Utah are connected to the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System (USIIS). Contact your provider and ask if they can give you an Official USIIS Personal Utah Immunization Record. If your provider does not participate in USIIS, they can print your immunization record from their medical record system.
- Submit a request to Utah Department of Health’s Utah Statewide Immunization Information System (USIIS)
- From TriCounty Health Department
- Through the Docket mobile app
