CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award Winner

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) announces that Dr. Eliza Varadi has been selected as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Childhood Immunization Champion for South Carolina. CDC and the CDC Foundation hold this annual awards program to honor immunization champions across the 50 U.S. states, eight U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States, and the District of Columbia during National Infant Immunization Week (April 21-28). Dr. Varadi was nominated and selected from a distinguished pool of health professionals, community advocates, and other immunization leaders for making a significant contribution to public health in South Carolina through her work in childhood immunization. Dr. Varadi is a champion for vaccines for patients and their parents/caregivers. She educates parents about the importance of vaccines at prenatal visits and offers parents and caregivers Tdap and flu vaccine in her office to make sure they are protected. She also takes the time at sick visits to make sure children are up to date on their vaccines. Dr. Varadi is committed to dispelling misinformation about vaccines and is currently conducting a social media project where she posts reputable information about vaccines on her practice’s Facebook and Twitter pages. She has also participated in several initiatives to increase adolescent immunizations in her practice with excellent success. National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) is an annual observance to highlight the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases and to celebrate the achievements of immunization programs in promoting healthy communities throughout the United States. Each year, during NIIW, communities across the U.S. celebrate the CDC Childhood Immunization Champions. These award recipients are being recognized for the important contributions they have made to public health through their work in childhood immunization.