"The church has become an avenue to address health concerns, and the NHMN has proven to be an effective means of disseminating important vaccination information to parents, grandparents and other caregivers," said Dr. Allison-Ottey.

The campaign has been widely accepted by churches and community organizations. Since launching in April 2008, more than 12,000 toolkits have been distributed and more than 8,200 churches, with every state represented, have hosted local "Immunization Sundays" events, which allow churches and community organizations to present the immunization information in a personalized way to more effectively reach their members.

"The Protecting our Future campaign is now in its second year, and we are proud of the tremendous impact that we have made in communities thus far," said Dr. Allison-Ottey. "We look forward to continuing to spread the message of prevention through vaccination in the upcoming year."

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