A long time ago when I was seven, kids who contracted polio wound up crippled, confined to an iron lung, or worse. My mother knew people who had the disease, and she wanted to do everything in her power to protect her only child from this scourge. I lived in Suffolk County, New York, one of the counties in the United States with the highest incidence of polio. My mother signed the permission slip and as result of the vaccine I became a Polio Pioneer. And now at age 77, I look back on her decision and am forever grateful that my journey through life has not been disrupted by polio.

To all of us back then, a vaccine for polio felt like a miracle, and today the fact that there's a cancer-preventing vaccine feels like a miracle, too. Six types of cancer are caused by the HPV virus, including 99% of cervical cancers. Fortunately, getting the shot is easy: On March 12, kids over age nine can receive the vaccination for free at Crossett Brook Middle School and all they need is the same kind of permission slip my mom signed for me. For more information and to sign up, go to: https://huusd.org/blog/hpv-vaccine-clinic-registration-is-open

Event Info

Mar 8, 2025, 12:30 to 4 PM

Mar 11, 2025, 6 to 7:30 PM

Mar 12, 2025, 7 to 8 PM