Immunization Action Coalition (IAC)
English, hundreds of print materials available in more than 30 additional languages
Website for Healthcare Professionals
Launched in 1994 and one of the earliest websites devoted to immunization, www.immunize.org is the largest resource of practical, user-friendly immunization information available on the Internet today. It serves an average of 12,000 visitors per day. A redesign of the website was planned and executed behind the scenes over a two-year period and culminated in a successful launch on July 11, 2011. The updated design and navigation features make it easy for users to find the essential information they are seeking about vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases. Added are a new Google search feature; navigation improvements incorporating dropdown boxes for major sections; Top Ten lists of most visited pages and downloaded handouts; new web sections on Clinic Resources, News and Information, and an A to Z index. The website makes available more than 3,000 web pages and 3,000 PDF documents dedicated to educating healthcare professionals and the public about vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases.
The website houses all of IAC’s immunization education materials for healthcare professionals and their patients, and are located at www.immunize.org/handouts. All these materials are available free of charge, and users are encouraged to copy and distribute them. The website also makes available all Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) published in the United States, in dozens of languages and some in alternative formats. Vaccine safety resources are organized by source in an extensive “Vaccine Concerns” web section. IAC expert staff monitor and review the recent immunization literature and select journal articles dealing with practical topics such as parental concerns about vaccines, providing vaccination services, immunization exemptions, and many others, and present links to those articles on the website at www.immunize.org/journalarticles. These selected journal articles, currently numbering more than 4,000, provide IAC's professional audience with the ability to quickly keep up to date with the literature, and find the latest articles on topics of importance to them.
Date of primary evaluation: December 2003
Date of most recent evaluation: February 2012
English, many print materials available in additional languages
Website for the Public
Developed in consultation with CDC, this website for patients, parents, providers, and the media presents straightforward information about vaccine-preventable diseases and their vaccines. Launched in August 2002, it currently serves an average of 9,500 visitors per day. The website contains information about vaccine safety and the overall importance of immunization; it currently features 262 vaccine-preventable disease photos and 118 video clips. The site also has links to VISs, immunization and disease statistics, state immunization laws, state health department websites, and other topics.
Date of primary evaluation: December 2003
Date of most recent evaluation: February 2012
IAC is a nonprofit organization.
Both of the above listed web sites are updated as soon as new material becomes available, usually several times a week. Both sites are maintained by the Immunization Action Coalition; some sections are shared between the sites (e.g., the photo and video pages), but each is considered a separate site with its own intended audience.