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First
Time Visitor?
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At
a glance: On this page you will find information on how
to navigate the NIP website.
If you have specific questions
such as where to find immunization information, how to order
NIP publications, how to obtain immunization records, etc.,
please visit the Frequently Asked Questions page. |
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- I am new to
the site, where do I start?
The best place to begin is at the
NIP home page. This page (and
each audience-type home page) is organized as follows:
Follow
these suggestions to navigate throughout the site:
First, select the tab (see figure 1) that
would most closely match the type of
information or audience you are searching
for: public/parents,
healthcare
professionals,
partners, media,
or Spanish-language
only. Notice the travelers information
can be found via the
Travelers link
in the header. figure
1
Then,
select from the topics on that home page
(see figure 2).
figure
2
- Frequently
Asked For materials and commonly asked questions, top 20
most popular pages of NIP website
- Vaccines
(MMT, DTaP, Tetanus, etc.)
- Diseases
(vaccine-preventable)
- Resources
and publications (websites, posters, reports, etc.)
- Vaccine
Safety (issues, VAERS, common concerns, research, etc.)
- Specific
Groups (infants, children, pregnant women, healthcare workers,
etc.)
- News
and Events (vaccine and immunization-related)
- Statistics
and Surveillance (immunization-related)
Notice
that on the major topics' pages, information is flagged with a
symbol for the type of audience it serves best (see figure 3):
figure
3
Directly
under the major topics links on each home page is a "Topics
Below" listing of links (figure 4). These links are specific
to each audience type (the example below is from the Partners
page). Clicking each link directs you further down the page to
that link's section, under which you'll find more links to important
information related to that section.
figure 4
There
are also a few pages that can help you find what you are looking
for on the NIP website:
- NIP website
site map - concise listing of the NIP website content.
- Search tools - use the basic
search for simple keyword searches, or the advanced
search to also search specific file types (HTML, PDF, MS
Word, etc.), sort the results, specify the number of results
per page, etc.
- What information
is available on the NIP
website?
- Information on child
and adult vaccine-preventable
diseases and their prevention, including fact
sheets and more
- Recommended schedules: children,
teens and college
students, adults,
catch-up,
etc.
- Immunization schedule tools:
Childhood
Scheduler (generated by birth date), Adult
Immunization Quiz
- Benefits
of immunization and the impact
of vaccines
- Risks
of immunization versus the risk of disease
- Publications
on immunization and immunization-related
issues
- Latest News
on immunizations, vaccine-related newsletters,
and other important immunization-related issues
- Educational
materials and resources
- Information geared toward various
audiences: public/parents,
healthcare professionals,
media, partners,
spanish-language
only, and travelers,
etc. (Note: These major audiences are available via the gray
tabs at the top of the home page except Travelers, which is
available via the link in the header of all pages.)
Top
- Is the NIP website information
credible?
Yes, the NIP website information
is credible. The NIP website is produced by the National Immunization
Program (NIP), the Federal Government's principal agency for immunization
research and a component of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
And, how do I know if the vaccine
information I find on the Internet is accurate?
First,
consider the source of information. A good health website will
display who is responsible for the content of the site. Also look
for a way to contact
the information provider or Webmaster. Health information
should be accurate and unbiased, and information should not be
slanted in favor of a website's sponsor or source of funding.
The Evaluating Information
on the Web page provides additional information and suggests
questions to ask to determine the accuracy of website information.
- How frequently
is the NIP website updated?
The
NIP website information is reviewed regularly
for currency and is updated at least
weekly to include the latest facts. Each
home page spotlights recently published
items at the top of the page. Be sure
to visit the site often to get the latest
immunization information.
Top
- How can I
continue to get up-to-date
immunization information?
Return
to the the NIP website site frequently, because
the content changes often to mirror the changes
and advances in immunization research. Be sure
to check the Spotlight area for the latest
topics and the News
page for recent immunization articles, and sign
up for free newsletters
on the NIP website.
- What
features should every user
know about?
- Acronyms
and abbreviations found throughout the site are spelled
out. Also offered is a Glossary
of immunization terms which defines medical terms. Both
these features are available via the left navigation bar of
every page on the site.
- Calendar
for vaccine and immunization-related upcoming events
- Help -
Contains instructions on how to capture pictures, making the
NIP your default home web page, NIP's site map, etc. The Help
feature is always available via the Help link in the header
of all pages.
- Links
to related websites - A list of websites containing immunization-related
information (via the link on the left navigation bar). Many
more are also listed on the Partners
home page (via the Partners tab located on top of the home
page).
- News
- Features news stories on immunization topics.
- Search
for keywords, or use the advanced
search options form.
Top
- What if there
are medical terms I don't
understand?
Use the NIP website's Glossary
of Immunization Terms, which contains definitions of medical terms
along with the phonetic spelling for most terms. A link to the
Glossary is located in the left navigation bar and at the bottom
of every page.
- Are there
other ways to access
immunization information?
You can learn how
to get NIP immunization information by phone, fax, email, and
mail by using the Contact
Us link at the top of the home page. Information from other
organizations can also be accessed from the left navigation bar
by clicking Links to other websites.
Top
- What if I
can't find the information
I'm looking for?
- If you can't locate the immunization
information you need, call the CDC-INFO Contact Center.
English and
Spanish
(800) 232-4636
(800) CDC-INFO
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If you have technical or navigational
difficulties using this site, contact your Internet provider
and/or technical support staff.
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If you are still experiencing
difficulty with the NIP website, send a message to our Webmaster
at nip...@cdc.gov or use
the following form.
- How do I order NIP publications?
- Click on Online
order form. Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery.
- Call the CDC-INFO Contact
Center at
(800) CDC-INFO or (800) 232-4636.
- Further details on publications
are available via the Publications
page.
Top
- Where
can I find immunization
coverage data?
Click on Data
and Statistics located on the NIP website's left navigation
bar to view several sources of immunization coverage data. Or,
select National
Immunization Survey
from the Media tab
for immunization coverage data in the United States--updated
twice a year.
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Where
can I find vaccine recommendations for travel, state requirements,
and my immunization records?
You
can find information on locating immunization records on our
Immunization Records
FAQs page. Links to each of these topics are also on the
public home page under the category "Frequently Asked For,"
and via the Frequently
Asked For major topic (in the turquoise bar on the home
page).
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This
page last modified on January 23, 2006 |
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