Fact sheets on vaccines, disasters added to APHA’s Get Ready campaign
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* Michele Late

APHA’s Get Ready campaign has added two dozen fact sheets to its expansive line of free emergency preparedness materials.

The free fact sheets, which are available in both English and Spanish, address natural disasters such as landslides, volcanoes, wildfires, hurricanes and tsunamis as well as human-made events such as chemical spills and radiological disasters. Other new titles cover topics such as sheltering in place, senior preparedness, building safety, mosquitoes and child preparedness.

Also included among the new fact sheets is a four-part vaccine series, addressing vaccinations for kids, teens and adults.

![Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/41/8/4.1/F1.medium.gif)

[Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/41/8/4.1/F1)

The new additions join more than three dozen other fact sheets and materials available through the Get Ready campaign, including those that address floods, winter storms, heat waves, stockpiling, food drives, pet preparedness, dengue, flu and hand-washing.

The new Get Ready fact sheets can be downloaded as PDFs and shared at meetings, health fairs, school events, health departments or other venues. Organizations, health departments and other groups can add their logos to the fact sheets using easy-to-follow instructions on the Get Ready website.

“Public health professionals can play a key role in improving preparedness in their communities, and Get Ready fact sheets are an easy way to share that information,” said Susan Polan, PhD, APHA’s associate executive director for public affairs and policy, who leads the Get Ready campaign.

Get Ready’s vast library of fact sheets came in handy in August, when the U.S. was hit with both earthquakes and a hurricane. Within hours of the earthquake that occurred on the East Coast on Aug. 23, the Get Ready fact sheet advising what to do during and after an earthquake was downloaded hundreds of times. The campaign also promoted its fact sheets on power outages, emergency stockpiling and food and water safety as Hurricane Irene approached.

Created in 2006, APHA’s Get Ready campaign helps Americans prepare themselves, their families and their communities for all hazards, including pandemic flu, infectious diseases, natural disasters and other emergencies.

Attendees at APHA’s 139th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., this month can pick up free copies of the fact sheets at the Get Ready booth, number 4096 in the meeting’s expo. Booth visitors can enter to win an emergency preparedness kit at the booth.

To download any of the Get Ready fact sheets, visit [www.aphagetready.org](http://www.aphagetready.org). For more information, email getready{at}apha.org or call 202-777-2742.

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association