Policy resources
With ongoing changes in federal immunization policy, immunization providers and advocates have been working to better understand how policy changes will impact healthcare. Three recent documents are worth exploring:
- “More Illness, Greater Cost Spotlight Brief: Childhood Immunizations,” published by Common Health Coalition. Expanding on an earlier report examining how health cuts to the healthcare system leads to an increase in illness, this brief uses measles as a case study to demonstrate the human and economic consequences of policy change. The analysis provides key takeaways, such as demonstrating that a sustained 1% annual decline in measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine coverage could lead to more than 17,000 measles cases, 4,000 hospitalizations, and 36 preventable deaths each year, while adding billions of dollars in avoidable costs across the U.S. health system and economy by 2030.
- “State of the Immunion” brief was recently published by Vaccinate Your Family. This annual brief combines disease tracking, vaccination coverage, and polling data to support the need for action by Congress. This report can be directly shared with elected officials.
- “Vaccine Policy Atlas” was published in January by American Families for Vaccines and the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This document outlines what state vaccine laws are connected to federal immunization recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For example, the report indicates that seven states (AZ, LA, MT, OR, SC, TN, WV) follow ACIP recommendations to establish vaccine requirements for school, college or day care attendance.
COVID-19 vaccine escape room
After the success of its influenza escape room, the team at Unbiased Science has developed a COVID-19 vaccine communication escape room, specifically for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Participants work through four realistic patient personas:
- A parent who is also already overwhelmed by the vaccine schedule and is concerned that COVID isn't serious enough to warrant vaccination for her child
- A young adult athlete worried about myocarditis and sudden cardiac events after vaccination
- A wellness-focused patient who believes natural immunity is superior and mRNA vaccines alter DNA
- An older, politically skeptical patient mistrustful of mRNA technology and the speed of development
The interactive nature of the room makes this training fun while covering common topics and offering ways to address them.
Policy resources
With ongoing changes in federal immunization policy, immunization providers and advocates have been working to better understand how policy changes will impact healthcare. Three recent documents are worth exploring:
- “More Illness, Greater Cost Spotlight Brief: Childhood Immunizations,” published by Common Health Coalition. Expanding on an earlier report examining how health cuts to the healthcare system leads to an increase in illness, this brief uses measles as a case study to demonstrate the human and economic consequences of policy change. The analysis provides key takeaways, such as demonstrating that a sustained 1% annual decline in measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine coverage could lead to more than 17,000 measles cases, 4,000 hospitalizations, and 36 preventable deaths each year, while adding billions of dollars in avoidable costs across the U.S. health system and economy by 2030.
- “State of the Immunion” brief was recently published by Vaccinate Your Family. This annual brief combines disease tracking, vaccination coverage, and polling data to support the need for action by Congress. This report can be directly shared with elected officials.
- “Vaccine Policy Atlas” was published in January by American Families for Vaccines and the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. This document outlines what state vaccine laws are connected to federal immunization recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For example, the report indicates that seven states (AZ, LA, MT, OR, SC, TN, WV) follow ACIP recommendations to establish vaccine requirements for school, college or day care attendance.
COVID-19 vaccine escape room
After the success of its influenza escape room, the team at Unbiased Science has developed a COVID-19 vaccine communication escape room, specifically for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Participants work through four realistic patient personas:
- A parent who is also already overwhelmed by the vaccine schedule and is concerned that COVID isn't serious enough to warrant vaccination for her child
- A young adult athlete worried about myocarditis and sudden cardiac events after vaccination
- A wellness-focused patient who believes natural immunity is superior and mRNA vaccines alter DNA
- An older, politically skeptical patient mistrustful of mRNA technology and the speed of development
The interactive nature of the room makes this training fun while covering common topics and offering ways to address them.