Vaccines are the safest and most cost-effective way of protecting young children and adults in Texas from preventable and potentially fatal diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), proper childhood vaccinations can prevent more than 14 million cases of disease and 33,500 deaths in the United States, and save $43 billion in costs, including $10 billion in indirect medical costs.

|  Advocacy  |  Vaccine Information  |  Important News  |  Tools  |  International Travel  |  Related Links  |

TMA Advocacy: Legislative Testimonies and Letters  

2012 

• TMA Testimony on Margins Tax Vaccine Deduction (June 5, 2012)
• TMA Testimony: Texas’ Health  Registries (Apr. 11, 2012)

2011 

• Immunizations Legislative Brief (2011)  
• TMA Testimony on SB 1177: Health Care Worker Vaccinations (May 18, 2011)
• Measles – a Once-Forgotten Disease – is Back (May 10, 2011)
• TMA Testimony: SB 56 Immtrac Registry (April 19, 2011)
• TMA Testimony: HB 574, ImmTrac Opt-Out Registry by Dr. Terk (April 13, 2011)
• TMA Testifies: SB 1177 Health Care Worker Vaccinations (April 5, 2011)
• TMA Testimony: HB 336 Pertussis Education for New Moms (March 30, 2011)
• TMA Testifies on SB 1107 Meningitis College Requirement (March 30, 2011)
• 2009-10 Flu Vaccine Survey (PDF)
• TMA Testimony on State ImmTrac Registry (PDF) (Feb. 24, 2010)

Vaccine Information  

• Immunization Schedules (CDC)
• ACIP Recommends HPV Vaccination of Boys (Action, Nov. 15, 2011)
• General Recommendations on Immunizations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) (MMWR, Jan. 28, 2011)  
• ACIP Revises HPV Vaccine Rules (Action, Apr. 15, 2010)
• Texas Vaccination Requirements  
• ImmTrac  
• Vaccines for Children Program  
• Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)
• ASTHO letter to ABC regarding vaccine safety (PDF)

Important News on Vaccinations  

• Lifesaving Shots: New Law Requires Health Workers' Vaccination (Texas Medicine - August 2012)  
•  Medical Journal: Study Linking Vaccine to Autism, Vaccines is 'Elaborate Fraud' (CNN, Jan. 6, 2011)
• Anatomy of a Scare (series of articles on autism and vaccines) (Newsweek, March 2, 2009)
• U.S. Study Clears Measles Vaccine of Autism Link (Reuters, Sept. 4, 2008)
• Timeline: Thimerosal in Vaccines (1999-2008) (Jan. 31, 2008)
• The New McCarthyism: Vaccines & Autism” — an opinion editorial by Ari Brown, MD (Wall Street Journal, Oct. 27, 2007)

Tools  

• Immunization resources from The Group on Immunization Education of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine: A direct link to the downloadable file at: http://www.immunizationed.org/  
• Download the schedule into your Palm Handheld (Note: This is freeware software and is to be used at your own risk).  
• Instant Immunization Schedule for Children 5 Years Old and Younger (CDC)
• Vaccine Information Statements (CDC)

International Traveler Immunization Resources  

• American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene  
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  
• Immunization Action Coalition  
• International Society of Travel Medicine  
• Pan American Health Organization  
• The Group on Immunization Education of the Society of Teachers of Family Physicians  
• World Health Organization  

Related Links  

• American Academy of Pediatrics Immunization  
• American Association of Health Plans: The Online Manual of Strategies to Promote Adult Immunization  
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Care Van  
• Every Child by Two  
• Frequently Asked Questions on Childhood Vaccines  
• Immunization Action Coalition  
• ImmunizationEd.org: The Group on Immunization Education of The Society of Teachers of Family Medicine  
• National Network for Immunization Information  
• The Vaccine Page  
• World Health Organization Immunization Safety