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Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey and New Jersey Department of Health Launch Vaccine Awareness Poster and Video ContestNEWARK, N.J. --(Business Wire)-- The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey, in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Health, today announced the launch of the third annual Protect Me With 3+ poster and video contest. Targeting youth in middle and high schools throughout New Jersey, the contest aims to raise awareness about the importance of adolescent immunizations among pre-teens, teenagers and parents, and increase vaccination rates for four adolescent vaccines: tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap), human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal conjugate (MCV4) and the flu. "Our goal is to engage New Jersey youth and their parents so they better understand the importance of adolescent vaccinations - how they can prevent disease and save lives," commented Ilise Zimmerman, Executive Director of Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey. "The Protect Me with 3+ contest offers a unique opportunity to raise public health awareness among teens and parents, which is a win-win for everyone." In its third year, Protect Me With 3+ offers prizes to the top three entries in the video and poster categories and the chance for winning entries to be distributed during statewide immunization awareness activities. The top five finalists in each category will be posted on www.protectmewith3.com for public voting in December. A prize for the classroom with the most eligible submissions in each of the poster and video categories will also be awarded, encouraging teachers to leverage the Protect Me With 3+ contest as part of class projects. The video contest offers an interactive medium for high school students to communicate the importance of adolescent vaccines; participants are required to submit a video up to 30 seconds long, integrating key facts related to one adolescent vaccine. The deadline to submit is November 23. The new poster contest for fifth to eighth graders encourages submission of original artwork that can be illustrated using crayons or markers. The deadline to submit is November 15. "Vaccinating adolescents before they are exposed to serious and life-threatening diseases is the best way to protect them," said Deputy Commissioner Dr. Arturo Brito." "It is important for pre-teens and teens to be up-to-date on their vaccinations since protection from some vaccinations can wane over time." Effective today, submissions for the Protect Me With 3+ video and poster contest are being accepted. Information regarding eligibility, video and poster submission guidelines and contest rules can be found at http://www.protectmewith3.com. About the Partnership The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation, licensed by the NJ Department of Health (DOH). Its mission is to improve the health of women, children, and families. The Partnership has more than 20 years of experience mounting community-based, consumer-friendly and culturally competent educational programs to parents, caregivers, pregnant women and individuals of child-bearing age. For more information visit, http://partnershipmch.org/ To learn more about vaccinations, please visit the Department of Health's website: http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/imm.shtml
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