National Infant Immunization Week is April 21 – 28

RICHMOND, Va. — The Richmond and Henrico Health Districts (RHHD) encourage parents and guardians to make sure that children two years and younger are immunized against vaccine-preventable diseases. On-time vaccination is critical to provide protection against these potentially life-threatening diseases. National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) is April 21 – 28.

“Our country is witnessing a concerning rise in the number of cases of vaccine-preventable diseases, and there has now been a confirmed case of measles in Virginia, the first of 2025,” said Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Director Dr. Elaine Perry. “Infant immunization gives parents and guardians a powerful tool that can help protect one of our most vulnerable populations from serious illness and death.”

The Code of Virginia requires children entering daycare, public and private schools to give proof of vaccination before enrolling in school. These vaccines should be given based on the schedule recommended by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics, and American Academy of Family Physicians. Parents and guardians can view the Virginia childhood vaccine schedule on this PDF.

Families without health insurance or who are enrolled in Medicaid can visit rhhd.gov/connect-pc to find pediatric care providers. Families with private insurance may schedule appointments with their child’s pediatrician, a local pharmacy, or one of RHHD’s community partners. For more information, parents and guardians can visit rhhd.gov/childhoodvax.

RHHD offers childhood immunization appointments at its Cary Street,  Henrico East, and Henrico West, clinics. Parents and guardians can call 804-205-3501 to make an appointment. Bilingual-in-Spanish staff is available at all locations.

Virginia Vaccines for Children (VVFC) providers offer free immunizations to children (younger than 19 years of age) who are uninsured or underinsured; Medicaid-eligible or Medicaid-enrolled; and/or American Indian or Alaska Native. Families can search for a VVFC provider near them using rhhd.gov/vfc. 

A 2024 study published in The Lancet looked at the effect of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), which was launched in 1974 to make life-saving vaccines available to all globally. Since 1974, the study found that vaccination has averted 154 million deaths, including 146 million among children younger than 5 years, of whom 101 million averted deaths were infants younger than 1 year. Measles vaccination accounted for 93.7 million lives saved (60.8%) of the 154 million total lives saved over this 50-year period. Measles vaccination was the single greatest driver of lives saved by vaccination, across all years in every region and all World Bank income strata.

National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) is a yearly observance held in April, highlighting the importance of protecting children two years and younger from vaccine-preventable diseases. CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend that children stay on track with their well-child appointments and routine vaccinations.

Follow RHHD on Instagram at @richmondcity_hd and Facebook. For more health and safety information, visit rhhd.gov and sign up for RHHD’s monthly newsletter at rhhd.gov/news.