Are your immunizations up-to-date? While most immunizations are intended for infants and children under 6 years of age, some vaccines and booster shots are recommended for older children, adolescents, adults and seniors as well. So staying up-to-date with immunizations requires ongoing effort on the part of young and old alike.

August is National Immunization Awareness Month. The timing is perfect—children are getting ready to return to school, young adults are heading off to college, and health care providers are preparing for flu season, making August a good time to focus on immunizations.

In recognition of National Immunization Awareness Month, American Academy of Pediatrics President Renee Jenkins, MD will appear at a news conference on August 5 at the Peninsula Hotel, New York, to promote childhood immunization. Jenkins will be joined by former First Lady Rosalynn Carter (co-founder of Every Child By Two) and actress Amanda Peet. (Stay tuned for more on Peet who recently described parents who don’t vaccinate their children as “parasites” but later issued an apology.)

The importance of immunizations was the subject of a recent post on baby gooroo. It is estimated that 20 million cases of measles occur worldwide every year. In 2005 it was estimated that 311,000 children under the age of 5 died from measles.

As recently as 2000, measles was a rare occurrence in the US. Since January 2008, 132 cases of measles have been reported—the largest number of cases in nearly 10 years. Not surprising, nearly all of the cases occurred in children whose parents decided not to have them vaccinated.

The CDC recently released a bulletin warning the public of reported outbreaks of measles in 15 states—Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New York, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington.

Measles is highly contagious. The virus that causes measles is spread through coughing or sneezing. Symptoms of measles include rash, fever, cough, and runny nose. Measles can also cause ear infections, pneumonia, encephalitis (an inflammation of the brain) and even death. Because cases of measles are rare in the US, many people have forgotten how devastating this disease can be.

Are vaccines safe? Amanda Peet’s remarks were sparked by the ongoing controversy surrounding the safety of vaccines—controversy that has caused some parents to decide not to immunize their children—much to the chagrin of countless health care providers in addition to Peet. Unsubstantiated concerns over whether the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine increases the risk for autism, has caused many parents to opt out and not give their children a vaccine that protects not only their children but countless others.

Unfortunately, the consequence of their decision is now being recognized—a significant increase in the incidence of a highly contagious disease. It was this increase and the fact that it was preventable that prompted Peet to speak out, “I believe in my heart that my use of the word “parasites” was mean and divisive. However, I still believe that the decision not to vaccinate our children bodes for a dangerous future.”

Does the MMR vaccine increase the risk for autism? Katie Powers, in a recent BabyTalk column, explored the history surrounding a possible link between the MMR vaccine and autism. Powers cited a February 1998 article published in The Lancet in which the authors suggested that the MMR vaccine might contribute to the development of autism. There was intense media coverage of the article.

Six years later, in 2004, The Lancet published a retraction of the article by 10 of the 13 original authors. There have since been 20 more published articles disputing any connection between the MMR vaccine and autism and 3 reporting an association.

The controversy reached its peak when Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. published a piece in Rolling Stone Magazine in June of 2005. He accused public health authorities of having “knowingly allowed the pharmaceutical industry to poison an entire generation of American children.” This added fuel to the fire for parents desperate for an answer to why their child was suffering from autism. Sadly, all this rhetoric was supported by little or no scientific evidence.

The cause of autism remains a mystery. Every parent of an autistic child wants to know why their child isn’t like other children. Most experts agree that autism is likely caused by multiple factors, not just one. Given the lack of scientific evidence, perhaps Peet rightly asks, “How many more studies do we need to conduct on vaccines before we start re-channeling our efforts and money towards research on autism?”

The importance of immunizations cannot be overstated. For a list of recommended childhood immunizations and a suggested administration schedule visit the American Academy of Pediatrics. Additional facts on immunizations can be found at Every Child By Two—a nonprofit organization founded in 1991 by Rosalynn Carter and Betty Bumpers (wives of former governors of Georgia and Arkansas) following a measles epidemic in 1989 to 1990 that killed nearly 150 people in the US.

In the end, it’s all about the benefits and the risks. Unfortunately, it appears that the benefits are being overshadowed by the risks. And the risks are slowing becoming a reality. Not the shot we want or need.