Carolyn Abruzzo, RN, Chairman of the BVRC Public Education & Outreach Committee, would like to invite you to join a working group to develop a plan to provide Burlington residents with accurate and current information regarding vaccines.  The working group will discuss the following:

1. Burlington is an increasingly diverse community.  Many residents have come from parts of the world where a number of communicable diseases, rare in the U.S., are still endemic.
2. As reported in the press, groups who oppose vaccination for a number of reasons have continued to be vocal.
3. Social media has allowed misinformation regarding the safety of vaccines to spread.
4. Outbreaks of measles throughout the U.S. in the past year have shown vulnerability of populations to these trends.
5. Knowledge regarding efficacy of vaccines in use increases, particularly, the need for booster or re-vaccination for some populations.
6. New vaccines have been developed, i.e., improved shingles vaccine. People may not be aware of this.
7. All groups of the population, from infants to senior citizens, can benefit from the up-to-date and accurate knowledge regarding vaccines
8. Although the information is available from many public sources, it may not reach the people who need to see it.

If you are a medical professional, please consider joining this working group to develop an educational outreach plan.61