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National Immunization Month: Staying Safe Side by Side
August is National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM). This annual observance is a reminder to everyone that staying up to date on vaccinations is an important way to protect not only your health but the health of everyone around you.
Vaccines work by imitating an infection—the presence of a disease-causing organism in the body—to engage the body’s natural defenses. The active ingredient in all vaccines is an antigen, the name for any substance that causes the immune system to begin producing antibodies. In a vaccine, the antigen could be either:
- Weakened or killed bacteria or viruses
- Bits of their exterior surface or genetic material, or
- Bacterial toxin treated to make it non-toxic.
Some vaccines require multiple doses, given weeks or months apart. This is sometimes needed to allow for the production of long-lived antibodies and development of memory cells. In this way, the body is trained to fight the specific disease-causing organism, building up memory of the pathogen so as to rapidly fight it if and when exposed in the future.
When someone is vaccinated, they are very likely to be protected against the targeted disease. But not everyone can be vaccinated. People with underlying health conditions that weaken their immune systems (such as cancer or HIV) or who have severe allergies to some vaccine components may not be able to get vaccinated with certain vaccines. These people can still be protected if they live in and amongst others who are vaccinated. When a lot of people in a community are vaccinated, the pathogen has a hard time circulating because most of the people it encounters are immune. So, the more that others are vaccinated, the less likely people who are unable to be protected by vaccines are at risk of even being exposed to the harmful pathogens. This is called herd immunity. This is especially important for people who not only can’t be vaccinated but may be more susceptible to the diseases we vaccinate against. No single vaccine provides 100% protection, and herd immunity does not provide full protection to those who cannot safely be vaccinated. But with herd immunity, these community members will have substantial protection, thanks to those around them being vaccinated. Vaccinating not only protects yourself but also protects those in the community who are unable to be vaccinated. If you are able to, get vaccinated.
In the U.S., safety measures are strict and prioritized to ensure that vaccines are safe for patients. Before any vaccine is approved for use, it is tested for safety and effectiveness through clinical trials and then must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. While some people experience mild side effects after receiving a vaccine, such as swelling at the shot area, mild fevers and chills, serious reactions are extremely rare. Overall, the safety of all vaccines is closely monitored to ensure their continued safe use. If patients have questions about a vaccine including any potential side effects, they should speak to their healthcare provider.
TOPIC RESOURCES
HVHD Service Spotlights
Emergency Preparedness
It is important to know which types of disasters could affect your area. Some disasters can occur without any warning, and most often family members may not all be in the same place. Having a plan in place to contact one another and reconnect if separated, establishing a family meeting place that’s familiar and easy to find, and, thinking about the specific needs your family may have in an emergency situation can make these unexpected disasters safer and easier for your family. As time goes on your family’s needs may change, so make sure to update your plan regularly.
Here are some steps to get started:
Step 1: Meet with Your Family
Put a plan together by discussing the questions below with your family, friends or household to start your emergency plan.
- How will I receive emergency alerts and warnings?
- What is my shelter plan?
- What is my evacuation route?
- What is my family/household communication plan?
- Do I need to update my emergency preparedness kit?
Step 2: Assess Your Household Needs
As you prepare your plan, customize your plans and supplies to your specific daily living needs and responsibilities. Discuss how people in your network can assist each other with communication, care of children, business, pets or other needs. Consider the following:
- Different ages of members within your household
- Responsibilities for assisting others
- Locations visited frequently
- Dietary needs
- Medical needs including prescriptions and equipment
- Disabilities or access and functional needs including devices and equipment
- Languages spoken
- Cultural and religious considerations
- Pets or service animals
- Households with school-aged children
After you establish your plan it is important to practice it. Practicing your emergency disaster plan ensures safety by testing your communication methods, evacuation routes, and helps work out any potential issues. Regular practice helps everyone respond quickly and calmly when a real emergency happens.
Stay Updated During an Emergency
Summer weather can bring extreme heat, powerful thunderstorms, flash flooding, and occasional tropical systems. High temperatures and severe weather can lead to power outages, travel disruptions, and other emergencies. Staying informed and prepared can help keep you and your family safe throughout the season. Use the guide above to sign up for local weather and emergency alerts so you can receive timely updates when severe weather is expected in your community.
Stay Informed, Not Alarmed
Public Health Updates:
Cyclospora
Article by Pien Huang from NPR, August 2nd, 2026
| This summer, tiny Cyclospora parasites have wreaked havoc on the digestive systems of thousands of people in the U.S. It’s the biggest outbreak of this parasite the U.S. has ever seen. In a July 28 update, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counted 45 states reporting cases of cyclosporiasis — the disease caused by the parasite. Michigan is ground zero for cyclosporiasis, where more than 10,000 people have eaten something, likely lettuce, contaminated with microscopic pods containing Cyclospora parasites. These parasites rely on the digestive tracts of humans — and only humans — to reproduce. To get there, they’ve likely been hitching rides on crops from places where the parasite is relatively common, to the unwitting mouths of hungry people across the U.S. Their complex biology contributes to why they’re so hard to kick, leading to infections that can last for weeks or months. A lifecycle that requires the human gut On the surface of an herb, vegetable or berry, Cyclospora parasites lie dormant in pods — called oocysts — that are virtually invisible to the human eye. “It would take about a hundred of them, linked end to end, to fit across the head of a pin,” says Vernon Carruthers, professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Michigan Medical School. Once swallowed by a human, the oocysts make their way down the esophagus, to the stomach and then the intestines. “The [oocysts] respond to signals in the gut, like body temperature, probably bile, digestive enzymes. This causes the parasites to be released,” Carruthers says. The parasites go straight for the lining of the small intestine, where they burrow in, taking over the cells to make copies of themselves. “These grow from just a few of the parasites we would take in, to millions of parasites replicating inside our intestinal cells,” Carruthers says. After a while, some of those parasites begin to differentiate into egg- and sperm-like forms, which combine to form new microscopic oocysts — a process that can happen millions of times at the height of infection. “This is truly remarkable, given that the sperm must find the eggs inside infected cells that are blanketed by a mucus layer,” Carruthers says. This whole process messes with the intestinal lining. “[The parasite is] entering those host cells, replicating in those cells, producing its life cycle within those cells. And that process eventually destroys the cells,” says Joel Barratt, a molecular parasitologist and associate professor at Emory University School of Medicine who used to lead a lab team at the CDC that responded to parasitic outbreaks. Infections can linger Inside the body, Cyclospora infections can last for weeks or months. “It’s much more complex than the typical viral stomach bug that you can pass in a day or two,” says Dr. Bobbi Pritt, a microbiologist at Mayo Clinic and director of its Clinical Parasitology Laboratory. A combination of certain antibiotics — sold under the brand names Bactrim, Septra or Cotrim — can help by stopping the parasites from replicating and giving the immune system a better chance to clear them, Carruthers says. Cyclosporiasis isn’t typically fatal, and people’s bodies seem to get better at fighting it off in places where the parasite is more common, including tropical and subtropical regions. Where Cyclospora is endemic, studies have found that “it tends to be younger people who get the symptomatic infections; older people don’t tend to get symptomatic infections,” Carruthers says. “That would imply that you can build up some immunity to it, but that it may take several exposures to do that.” It’s a “mystery” why this is a big outbreak year In the U.S., Cyclospora has been causing more suffering in recent years. Cyclosporiasis outbreaks detected in the U.S have been “up and down a little bit, kind of choppy,” after large outbreaks in 2018 and 2019, Barratt says. “But this year it’s just going straight through the roof.” One major reason for cyclosporiasis outbreaks in the U.S. is the imported food supply. “We’re getting produce and other food materials from all around the world. Many of these are endemic countries where people don’t have access to good sanitary facilities,” Pritt says. Human waste containing Cyclospora “gets into the groundwater or it contaminates the plants that are being grown directly.” Still, it’s a mystery why cyclosporiasis cases in the U.S. are so widespread this year. “It might just have been bad luck,” Pritt says, “with a large dose that was put into products that just happened to be high consumables,” destined for big chain restaurants like Taco Bell, whose shredded lettuce from Taylor Farms in central Mexico has been linked as one source of illnesses in a nine-state cluster. Taylor Farms voluntarily recalled that product on July 17. Public health authorities are still working to figure out additional sources. In North Carolina’s outbreak, parsley and cilantro may be another culprit, according to the state health department. In the meantime, it is recommend to wash and cook fresh vegetables to reduce your risk of a gut-busting infection. |
Environmental Health Spotlight:
West Nile in Connecticut
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) is part of the state’s Mosquito Management Program. Each year, scientists and staff members trap, identify, and test mosquitoes for viruses that can cause disease.
The CAES has detected the West Nile virus in mosquitoes across Connecticut. There have been no reported human cases of West Nile in Connecticut this summer. Testing results can be found by visiting their website here.
How do people get West Nile virus?
West Nile virus is spread to humans by the bite of infected mosquitoes. A mosquito is infected by biting a bird that carries the virus. West Nile virus is not spread from person-to-person or from birds to people under normal circumstances.
How can I lower my risk to West Nile virus?
You should try to reduce the risk of being bitten by mosquitoes. If West Nile virus is found in your area, you should:
- Minimize time spent outdoors between dusk and dawn when mosquitoes are most active.
- When it is necessary to be outdoors, use mosquito repellents containing an EPA-registered active ingredient, including DEET, Picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone. EPA registration of skin-applied repellent products indicates that they have been evaluated and approved for human safety and effectiveness when applied according to instructions on the label.
- Wear shoes, socks, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt when outdoors for long periods of time, or when mosquitoes are more active. Clothing should be light-colored and loose-fitting and made of tightly woven materials that keep mosquitoes away from the skin.
- Wear clothing and gear treated with permethrin. Permethrin is an insecticide that kills or repels mosquitoes and ticks.
- Be sure door and window screens are tight-fitting and in good repair.
- When sleeping outdoors, use tents or mosquito netting in an unscreened structure. Treat camping gear with permethrin when possible.
- Cover strollers and baby carriers with mosquito nets when outside.
To reduce mosquitoes in and around homes residents should:
- Remove standing water by emptying or changing water in bird baths, pet dishes, pots, used tires, gutters, and other water-holding containers at least once a week to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
- Install or repair and use window and door screens.
- Cover water storage containers (buckets, cisterns, rain barrels) with tight-fitting lids.
- Clean and chlorinate swimming pools. When pools are not in use, use pool covers and drain when necessary.
HVHD Director of Health Monthly Discussion with Robinhood Radio
HVHD Events: August 2026
CHT Events
| Kids Wellness Event at the John Pettibone Community Center: HVHD with UConn Health, United Way, and New Milford Food Bank, are hosting a Back to School Event with Free Vaccines for kids under 19, free healthy snacks and giveaways, talks on ticks, oral health, and nutrition. Friday August 7th from 10am – 3pm Passanger Pets at the New Milford Library: Join HVHD nurse Heidi for a read along of Passanger Pets, a guide for kids to learn how to be a safe passenger! Perfect for kids ages 3-10! August 14th at 10:30am Youth Mental Health First Aid: If someone you know is struggling in silence, your words could be their lifeline. Learn to spot the signs and say what matters most. Tuesday August 18th via Zoom from 9am – 3pm. Sign-up link. Community Conversation: Join us for an open discussion about immunizations and community health. August 19th via Zoom from 6pm – 8 pm |
| Learn more |
HVHD Events: MONTH YEAR
Recipe Highlight: Chicken Wraps with Salsa Cruda
These wraps are super simple to make, especially because there’s no cooking!
Ingredients
Servings 4 Serving Size 1 Wrap Time 20 Mins
Salsa Ingredients
- 1 large tomato (diced)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
- 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped, fresh cilantro (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon chopped, fresh jalapeño (seeds and ribs discarded)
Wrap Ingredients
- 3 ounces fat-free tub cream cheese (1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons)
- 1 medium green onion (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (lowest sodium available)
- 4 6-inch, whole-wheat tortillas (lowest sodium available)
- 1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
- 8 ounces canned chicken breast (rinsed, drained, lowest sodium available)
- 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 16 slices, or 16 strips bottled roasted red bell pepper, drained and patted dry
Directions
- In a small bowl, stir together all the salsa ingredients.
- In a separate small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup salsa, the cream cheese, green onion, and mustard.
- To assemble, spread the cream cheese mixture over each tortilla. Top with the romaine, chicken, and 4 slices of bell pepper.
- Roll the tortilla jelly-roll style over the filling, securing with a wooden toothpick if desired. Serve or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time.
- Serve with the remaining salsa or refrigerate for a later use.
Cooking Tip: Cut each tortilla roll into fourths to serve as appetizers for eight.
Cooking Tip: Store the remaining salsa in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Cooking Tip: Substitute corn tortillas for the whole-wheat variety for a gluten-free option and less sodium.
Cooking Tip: Substitute 1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken or leftover holiday turkey for the canned chicken. Depending on how both are prepared, these options may be higher in sodium.
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