HealthyWomen and Merck Remind People That Vaccination Is Important for All Ages, Not Just for Children

RED BANK, N.J., and WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J., Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Vaccines play an important part in helping to maintain health and wellness for people of all ages, not just children. Yet 58 percent of American adults admit that they are not aware of the vaccines that are recommended.  In fact, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has vaccination schedules for preteens, teens and adults, in addition to children.  That's why HealthyWomen, a leading independent health information source for women, and Merck, are launching "Lifetime of Vaccines," a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of vaccination throughout a lifetime.

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"According to the CDC, vaccination is considered one of the 10 great public health achievements of the last two centuries, yet many adults are unaware of what vaccinations are recommended beyond childhood," said Beth Battaglino, RN, executive director of HealthyWomen.org. "At HealthyWomen our goal is to provide women information that can support better health for themselves and their families, which is why we're excited to launch 'Lifetime of Vaccines.'"

In the US, widespread vaccination has helped to reduce or eliminate certain diseases that were once common. While more than 90 percent of young children in the US receive many of the recommended vaccines, there is still room to improve vaccination rates among certain age groups. It is necessary to maintain high levels of vaccination coverage among children to keep such diseases at bay, and it is also important to continue to improve vaccination rates among the adolescent and adult populations.

"People may not be aware of all of their recommended vaccines, so it's important to learn more about which vaccines are recommended throughout your lifetime. This is important both from a personal and a public health perspective to help improve overall vaccination rates in the US," said Battaglino.

The CDC recommends vaccines to help prevent more than 15 diseases. To learn more, people can talk to their health care professional and visit sponsor.WebMD.com/VACCINES. The website provides information developed by Merck on WebMD about the history of vaccines and how they are developed, approved and manufactured. The site also includes a resource developed by Merck that can be used when talking to a health care professional. By increasing awareness and education about vaccines, people can help protect themselves and their loved ones from certain infectious diseases.

About HealthyWomen

HealthyWomen (HW) is the nation's leading nonprofit health information source for women. For nearly 25 years, women have been coming to HW for answers to their most pressing and personal health care questions. HW provides award-winning health information through a wide array of online content and print publications that are original, objective and reviewed and approved by medical experts. Its HON-certified website, www.HealthyWomen.org®, has been recognized by ForbesWoman as one of the "Top 100 Websites for Women" for the third year in a row and was named the top women's health website by Dr. Mehmet Oz in O, The Oprah Magazine. To learn more, visit www.HealthyWomen.org.

About Merck

Today's Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and consumer care and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to healthcare through far-reaching policies, programs and partnerships. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Media Contact:
Andrea Johnson
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SOURCE Merck