Aquilent launches new vaccine government site to help citizens stay healthy

Aquilent, the recognized leading provider of Web-based solutions shaping the next generation of technology for the federal government, today announced its development support role in the newly launched Vaccines.gov site, under contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

According to a press release issued by HHS, Vaccines.gov, which promotes "Your Best Shot at Good Health," is "the first cross-government website devoted to providing consumer information about vaccines and immunization, combining content and expertise from agencies across the Department. It is the result of unprecedented collaboration among federal health and communications experts to offer online content about vaccine and immunization based on consumer needs."

The site includes a variety of comprehensive resources and links such as:

• Vaccine recommendations through the "Who and When" feature based on different age groups and health conditions; this section distills the recommended immunization schedules into easy-to-understand formats for parents and other health decision makers;
• A comprehensive vaccine-preventable disease index with corresponding vaccine recommendations, including links to a full glossary of terms with phonetic assistance. For example, someone unsure how to pronounce "pertussis" could listen to a recorded voice speaking the word;
• Health travel tips, enabling users to prepare for trips safely and protect their health while abroad and their community when they return home.

The site also links consumers with resources in their states to learn about vaccine requirements for school or child care entry and local community information.

Aquilent provided a wide range of development support solutions including website and development, graphic design, content syndication and migration, usability, QA testing, and publishing. Testing included hands-on consumer participation and feedback to help create a user-friendly site that is also Section 508 compliant to ensure full accessibility.

"Through the development of Vaccines.gov, Aquilent is assisting the government to help citizens stay healthy by providing comprehensive access to critical information pertaining to immunizations," stated Aquilent CEO David Fout. "It's a great example of how government is taking a proactive role in improving healthcare through open government and how an intuitive, user-driven design can create a highly positive and useful experience for website visitors."