Teaneck Student Places Third in Adolescent Immunization Awareness Poster Contest

Congratulations are in order for a Teaneck student who placed third in a video contest for the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey and the New Jersey Department of Health’s third annual Protect Me With 3+ adolescent immunization awareness video and poster contest.

The Protect Me With 3+ contest increases awareness about the importance of four adolescent immunizations: tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap), human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal conjugate (MCV4) and influenza.

“The Protect Me With 3+ contest offers a unique opportunity for New Jersey residents to learn about the importance of adolescent vaccinations,” said Ilise Zimmerman, Executive Director of Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey. “We are very happy with this year’s winners, as their efforts have helped to raise public health awareness.”

The poster contest was open to New Jersey students in grades 5-8, while students in grades 9-12 were eligible to participate in the video contest. The public voted for their favorite entries from Jan. 24 through Feb. 8.

The winning students are as follows:

Poster Contest Winners:

• 1st place: Nayeon Park from George Washington Middle School located in Ridgewood (Bergen County, Tdap).
• 2nd place: Virendra Ghate from Terrill Middle School located in Scotch Plains (Union County, Flu).
• 3rd place: Sophia Iacona, Margot Rizzi and Paris Mercurio from Terrill Middle School located in Scotch Plains (Union County, MCV4).

Video Contest Winners:

• 1st place: Timothy Smith, Samantha Tracy and Liam Keller from Cherokee High School located in Marlton (Burlington County, Flu).
• 2nd place: Emily Churak from Henry Hudson Regional located in Highlands (Monmouth County, Flu).
• 3rd place: Gavriel Epstein from Torah Academy of Bergen County located in Teaneck (Bergen County, Tdap).

Classroom Winners

• Poster: Patricia Selby from Terrill Middle School located in Scotch Plains (Union County).
• Video: James Gregg from Henry Hudson Regional located in Highlands (Monmouth County).

The top three winners in the poster and video categories received prizes and the opportunity for their submissions to be distributed during statewide immunization awareness activities.

The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation, licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH). 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/

The winning entries can be viewed at http://protectmewith3.com. To learn more about vaccinations, visit the Department of Health’s website: http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/imm.shtml.