Questions about the Event
Saturday, August 7, 2021, 9 AM – 1 PM
Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare System provide convenient locations throughout Broward: Locations
Although vaccines are provided on a first come, first serve basis, every facility will be stocked with the same vaccines.
Vaccinations are available to all children ages 4-20.
All vaccines will be provided by experienced Registered Nurses.
On Saturday, August 7, 2021, 9 AM – 1 PM, the following vaccines will be provided:
The vaccinations are provided free of charge by Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare System. There is no insurance or copay required.
Vaccines work to strengthen your immune system against future “attacks” by a disease. When you are exposed to a germ, also called a pathogen, your immune system generates antibodies to try to fight it off. If this pathogen makes you sick, some of the antibodies that are created will remain in your body to fight off infection in the future. So, if you’re exposed to the same pathogen again, the antibodies will ”recognize” it and fight it off. Vaccines work thanks to this function of the immune system. They are created from a killed, weakened, or partial version of a pathogen. Vaccines do not contain enough of the pathogen to make you sick, but it allows the body to create antibodies. As a result, you gain immunity against the disease without getting sick. If you are exposed to the pathogen in the future, your immune system will now have the antibodies to fight it.
In some cases, a person’s immune system will not respond to a vaccine well enough to effectively protect them after immunization. Despite differing immune system capabilities, vaccines still have a high effectiveness rate. After the second dose of the MMR vaccine (measles, mumps and rubella) or the standalone measles vaccine, 99.7% of vaccinated individuals are immune to measles. The inactivated polio vaccine boasts 99% effectiveness after three doses. The varicella (chickenpox) vaccine is between 85% and 90% effective in preventing varicella infections, but 100% effective in preventing moderate and severe chicken pox.
The 14 vaccinations recommended by the Centers for Disease protect against diseases that can result in serious illness or death. Many Americans have never witnessed these diseases because they have become rare or extinct in the United States because of vaccines. Without vaccines, the serious illnesses that vaccinations protect against could quickly begin to appear again in high rates. This is what the U.S. is currently seeing with the recent outbreak of the Measles.
The risks of natural infection outweigh the risks of immunization for each recommended vaccine. For example, a measles infection kills two of every 1,000 infected individuals. In contrast, the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine results in a severe allergic reaction only once in every million vaccinated individuals, while preventing measles infection. Additionally, vaccines such as tetanus vaccines provide even more effective immunity than natural infection.
Some vaccinations provide lifelong immunity against a disease with only one dose, while others require boosters. Research has suggested that this difference is because diseases vary in the speed of their progression through the body. Diseases that spread through the body quickly may not activate the immune system’s memory response. The immune system’s memory response is how the antibodies recognize a pathogen and respond to it. Unless the immune system has been “reminded” of the disease recently, it may not provide enough of a response against it. Boosters serve as a “reminder” for the diseases that have a quick progression.
Before the varicella vaccine became widely used, chickenpox infections resulted in 10,000 hospitalizations and caused more than 100 deaths each year in the United States. Chicken pox parties expose the child to a disease that could become a serious case. Natural infection does not only affect the child. The child becomes contagious and could then pose a threat of infection to adults, who have a higher risk of complications from the disease. Even uncomplicated cases of chickenpox cause children to miss a week or more of school, with a caregiver missing work to care for the sick child.
Vaccines that are made with killed pathogens are not able to cause illness. Live vaccines sound scarier than they are. The virus has been changed so that they cannot cause disease in people who are healthy. If your child has a weakened immune system from a disease like cancer, you should talk to your doctor or healthcare provider first.
Herd immunity, also known as community immunity, refers to the protection offered to everyone in a community by high vaccination rates. With enough people immunized against a given disease, it’s difficult for the disease to gain a foothold in the community. This offers some protection to those who are unable to receive vaccinations—including newborns and individuals with chronic illnesses—by reducing the likelihood of an outbreak that could expose them to the disease. However, to have herd immunity a high percentage of people need to have the vaccine, so it is important to get your child vaccinated.
No. Vaccines do not cause autism. This possibility was revealed after a 1998 paper by a British physician who claimed to have found evidence that the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine was linked to autism. The potential link has been thoroughly explored; study after study has found no such link, and the original 1998 study has been formally withdrawn by The Lancet, the medical journal, which had first published it. Studies were also done regarding the possibility of a link between the preservative thimerosal, which is used in some vaccines, and autism; again, no such link was found.
It’s likely that this misconception persists because of the coincidence of timing between early childhood vaccinations and the first appearance of symptoms of autism.
Every vaccine has potential side effects. These are usually very mild: soreness at the injection site (for a vaccine given via a shot), headaches, and low-grade fevers are examples of common vaccine side effects. Serious side effects are possible, however, including severe allergic reactions. The occurrence of these side effects is extremely rare. (Your doctor can explain the risks for individual vaccines in detail; for more information, review the Vaccination Information Sheets.) Looking at the possible side effects from vaccination, it’s important to remember that while some possible side effects are serious, they are extremely rare. It’s important to remember is that choosing not to vaccinate has serious risks. Vaccines protect against potentially fatal infectious diseases. Avoiding vaccination raises the risk of contracting those diseases and also spreading them to others.
Due to time limitations, we recommend that for children who had prior vaccinations done in another state or country, you should make an appointment with your child’s pediatrician or Primary Care Physician (PCP).
To protect our patients, families, and staff, each facility has put extra safety precautions in place, following CDC recommendations for COVID-19. Youth and parents must wear masks during the vaccination visits.
Yes, restrooms will be available at the vaccination locations.