Baton Rouge—Due to the overwhelming success of the recent three-day immunization program, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of Public Health announced today that it would continue to have no-cost immunizations during the entire month of August at all parish health units throughout the state. All parents are encouraged to call their private physicians or parish health units if they are unsure about whether or not their children need shots.
This initiative is being sponsored by the Shots for Tots program as part of the National Immunization Month campaign and the program’s mission is to have every child up-to-date on immunizations by age two. Parents interested in getting shots for their children are encouraged to call their local health unit for an appointment, as immunization times and days vary from health unit to health unit. Local health unit locations can be found by visiting the LDH Web site at www.dhh.state.la.us, or by calling the Office of Public Health at 1-800-256-4609.
State health officials add that many parents received postcards during the recent three-day immunization program and may have been unable to participate. Parents who received these cards are reminded that there is still time to get no-cost immunizations this month and are asked to bring the cards to the clinic indicated as well as any shot records they may have.
Normally, parish health units statewide see just under 20,000 children during the month of August, considered their busiest month. During the last week’s immunizations program, health officials saw close to 12,000 children and hope that the additional period for free immunizations will help make 2003 Louisiana’s most successful childhood immunization year on record.