Governor Stein Proclaims Immunization Awareness Month

Immunization Awareness Month

2025

By The Governor Of The State Of North Carolina

A Proclamation

Whereas, vaccination is proven to be a safe and highly cost-effective tool to proactively safeguard public health and prevent disease and the devastating effects of vaccine-preventable diseases on individuals and communities; and

Whereas, among the approximately 117 million children born from 1994 to 2023 in the United States, vaccination averted 508 million lifetime cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations, and 1.1 million deaths, resulting in estimated savings of $540 billion in direct medical costs and $2.7 trillion in societal costs; and

Whereas, vaccinations have greatly reduced morbidity and mortality by eradicating vaccine-preventable diseases like smallpox and greatly reducing the incidence of infections like meningitis, polio, and rubella; and

Whereas, timely and routine vaccination in children and adolescents is essential to preventing the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases, ensuring school readiness, and protecting vulnerable populations;

Whereas, certain respiratory viruses such as flu, COVID-19, and RSV are more common in the fall and winter; pregnant women, people with asthma or diabetes, people 65 or older, and children under 5 are at high risk of illness; and vaccines against these viruses are the best protection from severe illness and long-term health problems caused by these viruses; and

Whereas, measles is an airborne, extremely infectious, and potentially severe rash illness that had been declared eliminated in the United States in 2000 due to a high percentage of people receiving the safe and effective measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine; however, in recent years, U.S. MMR coverage has decreased; among kindergarteners, coverage is now below the 95% coverage target and is decreasing; and 27 outbreaks have been reported so far in 2025, up from 16 in 2024; and

Whereas, vaccines are a highly cost-effective way to prevent disease and severe disease outcomes, protecting individuals’ quality of life and reducing community spread of infectious diseases; and

WHEREAS, the continued engagement of parents, health care providers, health insurers, community-based organizations, local health institutions, long-term care facilities, educational institutions, and child care programs significantly impacts vaccine uptake among people of all ages; and

Now, Therefore, I, Josh Stein, Governor of the State of North Carolina, do hereby proclaim August 2025 as “Immunization Awareness Month” in North Carolina and commend its observance to all citizens.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the Great Seal of the State of North Carolina at the Capitol in Raleigh this twenty-third day of July in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-fifth and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.