Public Voting Begins for Tenth Annual Poster and Video Contest to Raise Awareness for Adolescent Immunization

The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey, in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Health, today announced the finalists for the tenth annual Protect Me With 3+ immunization awareness contest. Artwork including five middle school posters, five high school posters and five high school videos is now showcased at www.protectmewith3.com, where public voting will begin on March 29.

The Protect Me With 3+ challenges New Jersey youth in middle and high school to raise awareness about the importance of adolescent immunizations including COVID-19, tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap), human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal conjugate and flu vaccines. This year, the contest received poster and video entries from high school and middle school students across the state. Teachers across New Jersey also incorporated the Protect Me With 3+ contest into their curriculums by making it a class project.

"For the past 10 years, the Protect Me With 3+ contest has educated students about the vaccinations they need to stay healthy and to prevent the spread of diseases in their communities," explained Mariekarl Vilceus-Talty, President and CEO of the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey. "The contest also gives students an opportunity to be creative and collaborate with classmates as they create artwork."

"We have worked to reinforce the importance of adolescent immunizations over the course of the pandemic," explained State Epidemiologist and Assistant Commissioner Dr. Tina Tan from the New Jersey Department of Health. "We're proud of all the Protect Me With 3+ contest finalists for raising immunization awareness and we look forward to announcing the winners at an award ceremony in May."

Voting will take place for about three weeks and is open to both adults and students. The public may vote once per day until the ballot is closed on April 5 at 11:59 PM EST. The top three posters and videos in each category will be announced on May 12, 2022.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three entries in the video and poster categories. The winning submissions will also be distributed during various statewide immunization awareness activities. Prizes for the classrooms with the most eligible submissions in each category will also be awarded.

The Protect Me With 3+ contest finalists include:

Middle School Poster Category:
Alex Belusko, Henry Hudson Regional
Kayden Clermont, Franklin Elementary School
Lilyanna Lou, Master Art Studio
Sofia Prado, Franklin Elementary School
Katherine Quizhpi, Franklin Elementary School

High School Poster Category:
Meagan Bourke, Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School
Angela Dinh, Marlboro High School
Alyson Van Gulick, Vernon Township High School
Kayla Patterson, Vernon Township High School
Brina Trivedi, Wood-Ridge Junior/Senior High School

Video Category:
Lidhu Arakkal, Monmouth County Academy of Allied Health and Science
Dylan Kiperman, Marlboro High School
Mary Smullen, Monmouth County Academy of Allied Health and Science
Kelly Sullivan, Monmouth County Academy of Allied Health and Science
Audrey Yue, Monmouth County Academy of Allied Health and Science

To vote, visit: www.protectmewith3.com/vote.

To view previous winners' entries, visit: http://protectmewith3.com/winners/.

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/.