News & Views: Give Your Patients and Staff the Gift of Accurate Vaccine Information

The number of vaccine safety questions and the amount of related information can be overwhelming. Sadly, as with any online search today, more information than a person can use will appear — and it is not all created equal. Simply providing a short list of accurate places to get vaccine information can help parents attempting to sort through the vast array of online resources and can prevent them from becoming overwhelmed and confused.

If you have a website, provide new patient packets, or hang information in your exam or waiting rooms, consider providing a short list of websites or organizations that you value for their accuracy and presentation of information related to vaccines.

Likewise, if your staff fields many questions or administers vaccines regularly, they too may appreciate a short “go to” list of resources that they know you value.

To get you started, we compiled a few ideas herein:

• For the science of vaccine safety — vaccine.chop.edu
• For vaccine policy and popular social media accounts — vaccinateyourfamily.org
• For technical and vaccine administration information — immunize.org
• For parent advocacy related to vaccines — voicesforvaccines.org
• For global information and WHO-vetted websites — vaccinesafetynet.org

Each of these sites overlap in some of the information provided, and you may have local resources that are important to include. Likewise, you may already have vaccine information on your own website and wish for patients and families to start with that. For a longer list of choices, visit the VEC’s "Vaccine Websites" page.

Regardless, of where you choose to send people for vaccine information, it is important to remember that studies have shown strong vaccine recommendations from healthcare providers are one of the best determinants of whether or not a vaccine is accepted.