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Date: Thursday, October 30, 1997 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: CDC Press Office (404) 639-3286
Learning about childhood immunization will be as easy as "one fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish," now that Dr. Seuss is the instructor. HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala and Mrs. Audrey Geisel, widow of author Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, announced today the start of a national Dr. Seuss Immunization Awareness Campaign.
"Making sure that children receive the complete series of vaccinations on-time is the key to preventing childhood disease. But too many parents don't know which shots their children need and when," said Secretary Shalala. "This bold new campaign will teach the fundamentals of childhood immunization in a fun, new way that all of us can enjoy. Dr. Seuss and Mrs. Geisel deserve our praise and gratitude for this innovative new campaign that will go a long way toward increasing immunization awareness."
This campaign will build on the awareness produced by the Clinton Administration's Childhood Immunization Initiative, which has helped to increase childhood immunization rates to all-time highs and reduce the rates of vaccine preventable childhood illnesses to record lows.
The national Dr. Seuss campaign was launched today during a national immunization partnership meeting in Atlanta. At the event, one of the most recognizable Dr. Seuss characters, the Cat in the Hat, unveiled a limited series of six immunization posters featuring Dr. Seuss characters. The art was donated by Mrs. Geisel, through Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Inc., which controls the rights to his works. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will distribute the limited-edition posters to health care providers, medical clinics, community centers, and schools for display.
The six posters each feature a different Dr. Seuss character telling an immunization story in rhyme. Cat in the Hat reminds parents and doctors that "each exam is a chance to bring kids up to date. On routine and catch up, shots that shouldn't really wait." An illustration from the King's Stilts, showing a quarantined child, says, "What's going on here? What's wrong with this fella? Why isn't he protected against measles, mumps, and rubella?"
Dr. Seuss, who believed "a person is a person no matter how small," delighted four generations of youngsters and parents while helping kids learn to read. According to Random House, Dr. Seuss continues to be the best-selling author of children's books in the world, with more than 400 million books sold in 20 languages.
"We know that families must make a life-long commitment to preventing disease through immunization. At every age -- infant, adolescent, working adult, and senior -- we need vaccinations. Dr. Seuss spans the generations to help us keep that in mind," said Dr. David Satcher, director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "These posters are incredible tools in building immunization awareness."
In response to disturbing gaps in the immunization rates for young children in America, the Clinton Administration in 1993 launched a comprehensive Childhood Immunization Initiative. This initiative is working to increase and sustain infant immunization rates by: (1) improving immunization services for needy families; (2) reducing vaccine costs for lower-income and uninsured families; (3) increasing community outreach, participation and partnerships; (4) improving systems for monitoring diseases and vaccinations; and (5) improving vaccines and vaccine use.
According to CDC's most recent National Immunization Survey, which surveys parents of preschoolers nationwide, a record high 78 percent of two-year-olds in the United States received their full series of shots as recommended. In addition, President Clinton announced on July 23, 1997, that the nation had exceeded its childhood vaccination goals for 1996, with 90 percent or more of America's toddlers receiving the most critical doses of most of the routinely recommended vaccines for children by age 2. Also in 1996, reported levels of disease were at or near record lows and 3 diseases reached the elimination targets (tetanus under age 15, polio and mumps). However, about 1 million children under age two have not received all their immunizations.
For more information about immunizations and the diseases they prevent, contact CDC's toll-free National Immunization Information Hotline at (800) 232-2522 for assistance in English or (800) 232-0233 for assistance in Spanish. To access on-line information about immunization, visit the CDC web site at www.cdc.gov/nip.