National Network of Immunization Coalitions

Save the date: On January 15, IZCoalitions Network webinar speaker Dorit Reiss, professor of law, explains FOIA and FACA and their impact on immunization coalitions

Please save the date! The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) invites you to participate in a 1-hour webinar for immunization coalition leaders, members, and those who collaborate with coalitions on Tuesday, January 15, at 12:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. CT). Dorit Rubinstein Reiss will discuss her topic titled “Open government in action: What are FOIA and FACA and their state equivalents, and how they can impact immunization coalitions.”

FOIA is the abbreviation for the Freedom of Information Act and FACA is the abbreviation for the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

Dorit Rubinstein Reiss is a professor of law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Her research and activities are focused on legal issues related to vaccines, including exemption laws and tort liability related to non-vaccination. She has published several law review and peer-reviewed articles and many blog posts on legal issues related to vaccines. Dorit is a member of the Parents Advisory Board of Voices for Vaccines, and is active in multiple additional vaccine advocacy efforts.

We will send an invitation from ReadyTalk approximately a week before the webinar. When you register, you will receive a link to access the event on January 15.

Hope you all can make it!

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The entire immunization community mourns our loss of Betty Bumpers, immunization champion and co-founder of Every Child By Two

IAC joins the entire immunization community in mourning the loss of Betty Bumpers, a giant in the world of immunization and co-founder of Every Child By Two. While serving as First Lady of Arkansas, Mrs. Bumpers became a tireless advocate for childhood immunizations. Together with former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, she led a state-by-state campaign promoting preschool immunizations.

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The memorial about Mrs. Bumpers that follows was posted on the website of Vaccinate Your Family: The Next Generation of Every Child By Two:

It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of our co-founder, Betty Bumpers. She was 93.

Betty was a strong and life-long advocate for children and immunizations. All of us who had the honor of working with Betty feel a profound loss today. As First Lady of Arkansas in 1974, Betty forged a partnership with Rosalynn Carter, who at the time was First Lady of Georgia, to improve immunization services for the children in their home states. They worked together through the Carter administration in support of immunization programs and were credited with the passage of state laws mandating vaccines for school-entry. Their efforts were formalized when they founded “Every Child By Two” following a devastating measles outbreak in 1991 that took the lives of many children.

Betty’s work to advance immunizations has saved countless lives that would have been lost to deadly, preventable diseases. So many people were touched by her generosity, humor and deep determination to use the power she had to make the world a better place. We mourn the loss of our friend, co-founder and mentor. We are heartbroken by this loss but are grateful to have had the honor to work along aside her in pursuit of a better, safer and healthier world.

The full obituary of Betty Lou Flanagan Bumpers is available on VYF’s website.

Our immunization community is deeply grateful to have been supported by Betty’s energy, passion, and determination. Betty, we will miss your vision and your presence. We are more appreciative than we can express for all you have done to save so many lives.

In lieu of flowers, Betty’s family asks that memorials be made to Vaccinate Your Family: The Next Generation of Every Child By Two through its website at www.vaccinateyourfamily.org/how-your-donation-helps. Checks should be made out to “Every Child By Two” and mailed to 1012 14th Street, N.W., Suite 415, Washington, DC 20005.

Related Links

• New York Times: Betty Bumpers, Campaigner for Childhood Vaccinations, Dies at 93
• Washington Post: Betty Bumpers, widow of ex-Arkansas governor, senator, dies

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Every Child By Two announces new name to reflect its expanded mission

For 27 years, the nonprofit Every Child By Two has worked tirelessly to educate people about the importance of immunization. In recent years, the organization has expanded its focus to include people across the age span, and has officially now changed its name to Vaccinate Your Family: The Next Generation of Every Child By Two. The following paragraphs are from a November 14 organizational blog post:

In 1991, Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and Former First Lady of Arkansas Betty Bumpers launched Every Child By Two to educate families, healthcare providers, policymakers and others about the importance of timely immunizations by age two. Since that time, our organization has helped to educate millions of families about vaccines and helped to create policies that keep children safe from vaccine-preventable diseases.

Fortunately, since the creation of the organization, science has advanced and vaccines have been developed to protect people of all ages. Therefore, in 2015, our Board of Directors voted to officially broaden our mission to include efforts to help ensure vaccinations across the lifespan.

Today, by changing our name to Vaccinate Your Family: The Next Generation of Every Child By Two, our organization is solidifying our commitment to our expanded mission of protecting people of all ages against vaccine-preventable diseases. We look forward to continuing our collaborative efforts with our longtime partners to promote the importance of timely vaccinations and pro-vaccine policies across the United States. We will continue to serve as a credible, science-based source of immunization news and information for the public, healthcare providers, policymakers, the media and our partners.

We invite you to visit our new Vaccinate Your Family website, which incorporates the essential information from our previous websites (www.vaccinateyourfamily.org, www.ecbt.org & www.vaccinateyourbaby.org). We are also excited to welcome you to visit our other social media pages including @Vaxyourfam on Twitter, and Vaccinate Your Family on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Each of these sites has been rebranded to reflect our organization’s new name and logo.

As our blog readers may note, we also have a newly designed Shot of Prevention blog site. The new design was developed to improve the user experience and encourage readers like you to spend more time on the site reading a variety of posts by making it easier to find more content of interest. The site features a newly customized theme that aligns with VYF’s new branding. As seen below, there are new content categories which align with those featured on Vaccinate Your Family’s website (pregnant women, babies/children, preteens/teens, and adults). In addition there are other categories of content that are more generally defined as news/outbreaks, science/research, expert insights, etc.

Check out the re-designed Vaccinate Your Family website.

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California Immunization Coalition to sponsor webinar on December 11 and state conference on April 8–9

The California Immunization Coalition (CIC), along with the American Cancer Society, will present a webinar titled “Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy: Intervening to Increase HPV Vaccine Uptake” on December 11 at 12:00 p.m. PT (3:00 p.m. ET).

Registration information

In addition, the annual California Immunization Coalition Summit has been set for April 8–9 in Riverside, CA, with the theme: Today’s Vision, Tomorrow’s Reality. For over twelve years, the CIC Summit has brought together partners and colleagues from throughout California and beyond to share ideas, highlight successes, and identify partnerships.

Access the 2019 California Immunization Coalition Summit web page.

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