August is National Immunization Awareness Month. This is the perfect time to remind your community of the necessity for on-time vaccinations to protect people of all ages against vaccine-preventable diseases.

ACIP Approves Simultaneous Vaccines

Messaging about routine vaccinations is lost in the intense focus on COVID vaccines. The good news is that on June 23, 2021 the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) issued a recommendation that COVID and other routine vaccines can be given at the same time.

Annual influenza vaccination is recommended for all persons aged 6 months and older without contradictions. As such, ACIP’s approval includes co-administering influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. Accordingly, this is an opportunity to continue advocating for extending reach of the COVID-19 vaccine while also supporting routine immunizations.

Recommended Vaccinations

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a list of recommended vaccinations for patients by age. A full list of the symptoms and consequences of vaccine-preventable diseases can be found on the CDC’s website.

How to Foster Vaccination Support

The CDC has educational resources about vaccination including a video series called #HowIRecommend that offers simple but practical guidance for having successful vaccination conversations. The videos demonstrate how to make vaccine recommendations, answer common questions, and take a team-based approach to vaccination.

Summary

Back-to-school time is a good time to remind people to vaccinate their kids. Therefore, it is time to message your community about the importance of scheduling routine vaccinations for themselves and their children before the fall semester begins. To assist with this, the Medicom Health Risk Assessments have a robust follow-up messaging system that can help you to target your population with messages about immunization. Reach out to our support representatives to learn more.