Feature Article: Our Gift to You This Holiday Season — Updated Vaccines on the Go: What You Should Know Mobile App
Published on in Parents PACK
Our popular (and free) mobile app, Vaccines on the Go: What You Should Know, has been available since 2013. This holiday season, we are pleased to share that the app has been updated. It now includes even more information and resources to help with your vaccine decisions.
What’s new in the updated version?
The vaccines mobile app now includes:
Information about the immune system
Understanding how our immune systems work not only helps us navigate illnesses and treatments, but it also helps with vaccine decisions. The new section of the app related to the immune system includes information about:
- Different types of immunity
- Different parts of the immune system, including descriptions of innate vs. adaptive immune responses
- What happens during an infection
- What happens when the immune system malfunctions
Each section provides additional resources such as links to video animations and more detailed information on the Vaccine Education Center’s website.
Videos and animations
The VEC has a variety of videos, many of which were linked through the previous version of the app. However, the revised version now includes links to our Vaccine Makers Project resources, including excerpts of the award-winning film, HILLEMAN: A Perilous Quest to Save the World’s Children, additional film clips, and animations such as:
- How a virus attacks a cell
- How viruses reproduce
- How antibodies work
- The adaptive immune system
- The innate immune system
- And more
Information about vaccines for travelers and less routinely recommended vaccines
Information related to common travel diseases and vaccines, as well as less commonly used vaccines, is also now available through the app. Additions include cholera, Japanese encephalitis virus, rabies, typhoid and yellow fever.
Ways to stay connected with the VEC
A new section of the app, called “Connect,” allows you to easily stay in touch with the Vaccine Education Center. This section includes many of the features available in the previous version, but they are now conveniently located in one place. Visit the “Connect” section to send us your questions, save notes for the next doctor’s visit, play vaccine-related games, sign up for our monthly Parents PACK newsletter, and more.
The updated app also includes a notification feature to help you stay up to date whenever new or updated information becomes available. If you missed a notification, or if your notifications are turned off, check out the “See recent notifications” option in the “Connect” section.
Updated features
Many recognizable features have been updated, including:
Vaccine and disease information for all ages
The redesigned Vaccines on the Go app continues to feature up-to-date, trusted information about vaccines across the life span.
Vaccine pages include information about:
- The type of vaccine used
- Vaccine-specific side effects, including how often they occur
- Information to consider when making vaccine decisions, including special considerations and reasons that support vaccination
- Links to additional, related resources such as videos, animations, and downloadable Q&A sheets
- Seamless access to disease information
Disease pages include information about:
- The type of pathogen that causes the disease (virus or bacteria)
- How the disease spreads
- The contagiousness of the disease (in diagram format)
- Typical symptoms
- Timelines showing the typical length of an illness
- Possible complications
- Other information that may be of interest and links to additional related resources
Vaccine schedule and vaccine safety information
The app continues to include both schedule- and safety-related information. The “Schedule” section has been revised to include information for special populations, including cancer patients, pregnant women, preterm infants, travelers, and those with weakened immunity.
The “Safety” section addresses the most common vaccine safety topics, such as vaccines and autism, vaccine ingredients, and too many vaccines, and provides links to a variety of additional resources for more detailed information.
Get the app today!
Vaccines on the Go is available for download, free of charge, from the App Store and Google Play:
Information about the app can also be found at vaccine.chop.edu/mobileapp.
Categories: Parents PACK December 2019, Feature Article
Materials in this section are updated as new information and vaccines become available. The Vaccine Education Center staff regularly reviews materials for accuracy.
You should not consider the information in this site to be specific, professional medical advice for your personal health or for your family's personal health. You should not use it to replace any relationship with a physician or other qualified healthcare professional. For medical concerns, including decisions about vaccinations, medications and other treatments, you should always consult your physician or, in serious cases, seek immediate assistance from emergency personnel.