Tenth Annual Poster and Video Contest Aims to Raise Awareness for Youth Immunization and COVID-19 Vaccination Throughout New Jersey

The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey, in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Health, today announced the launch of the tenth annual Protect Me With 3+ poster and video contest. The contest challenges New Jersey youth in middle and high school to raise awareness about the importance of adolescent immunizations including tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap), human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY) and flu vaccines. Additionally, the contest has expanded to include entries for COVID-19 vaccination awareness.

"Educating students about the benefits of adolescent vaccination, especially COVID-19, can help prevent the spread of serious and potentially deadly diseases," said Dr. Tina Tan, State Epidemiologist and Assistant Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health. "Teachers can incorporate the Protect Me With 3+ contest into their curriculum to help students learn more about vaccines in a fun and creative way."

Starting today, middle school and high school students can participate in the contest by submitting a hand-drawn poster or an original computer-generated poster that integrates key facts about one of the adolescent vaccines listed above. High school students also have the option to submit a video up to 30 seconds long instead of a poster.

In addition to accepting posters via mail, the contest is also accepting poster and video submissions electronically at www.protectmewith3.com/submit. If a student is selected as a finalist, we will provide them with a pre-stamped envelope to mail their original poster to us. Our judges will then select the top three winners in each category.

"Now more than ever, it's important to raise awareness for youth immunization. The Protect Me With 3+ contest provides schools with a collaborative platform to teach students about the vaccines they need to stay healthy while nurturing team building team skills," stated Mariekarl Vilceus-Talty, President and CEO, of the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey. "The contest is also an excellent opportunity for parents to encourage their children's creativity and instill strong health habits."

The submission deadline is January 23, 2022. Prizes will be awarded to the top three entries in the video and poster categories, and the winning entries will be showcased during various statewide immunization awareness activities.

Additionally, students who submit entries by January 1, 2022 will be entered into random drawings to win prizes courtesy of Protect Me With 3+ event sponsors. For more information about Protect Me With 3+ sponsorship opportunities, visit www.protectmewith3.com/sponsors.

The top five finalists in each of the three categories will be posted on www.protectmewith3.com for public voting in March. The winners will then be announced and honored at an awards ceremony in May.

New Jersey teachers are encouraged to make the Protect Me With 3+ contest a class project. As an added incentive, prizes will be awarded to the classrooms with the most eligible submissions in each of the three categories. For more information on lesson plans and interactive materials for schools, visit http://www.protectmewith3.com/schools.

Information regarding eligibility, video and poster submission guidelines, and contest rules can be found at www.protectmewith3.com.

About the Partnership

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 (DOH). 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.

To learn more about vaccinations, visit the New Jersey Department of Health's website: http://www.nj.gov/health/cd/imm_requirements/.