Key Messages for Encouraging Healthcare Professionals to Make Strong Vaccine Recommendations
Use key messages to encourage healthcare professionals to ensure their patients are up to date on vaccines. Use these messages or adapt them to fit your audience.
Use the collapsible menu to find key messages tailored to vaccination at different stages of life.
You have the power to protect against vaccine-preventable diseases.
- You have the power to protect your patients and their babies from serious diseases like pertussis and seasonal flu.
- Your recommendations make a difference to your patients. You are their most trusted source of health information during pregnancy.
- State clearly that you would like patients to get vaccinated. For example, say: “I recommend Tdap and flu vaccines for you and all of my pregnant patients, because I believe vaccination is the best way to help protect you and your baby against whooping cough and the flu.”
- Your recommendation is the number one reason parents choose to vaccinate their child on time.
- When recommending vaccination, use a presumptive approach that assumes most parents will choose to vaccinate their child. For example, say: “Your child needs these vaccines today,” instead of “What do you want to do about vaccination today?”
- When recommending HPV vaccine, it’s important to recommend the vaccine the same way and same day that you recommend other vaccines for adolescents.
- You have the power to protect your patients against serious diseases like shingles, pneumococcal disease, and seasonal flu.
- Your recommendation can make a difference. Healthcare professionals are the most valued and trusted source of health information for adults.
- Even if your practice doesn’t administer vaccines or stock certain vaccines, make a strong recommendation and refer patients to other vaccine providers. Follow up to ensure vaccination.
Vaccines are safe and effective at preventing serious diseases.
- For many patients, a strong, clear recommendation is enough to accept recommended vaccines. Others may need more information. Use the SHARE approach to help patients make informed decisions about vaccines during pregnancy.
- Many patients are looking for reassurance from you that vaccines are safe and effective during pregnancy. For patients who have concerns about vaccine safety, use plain language to address their concerns.
- For patients who are concerned about taking certain medical products while pregnant, it may be helpful to explain that vaccines reduce risk of infection by working with the body’s natural defense to help safely develop immunity to disease.
- While most parents will vaccinate their child when you make an effective recommendation, some parents are looking for reassurance from you that vaccines are safe and effective for their child. Taking the time to listen and understand parents’ concerns can help you save time and build trust.
- It may be helpful to educate parents about the safety systems that the United States has in place to monitor vaccines before and after they are licensed. See resources to share with parents to reinforce the information you provide about the safety of recommended vaccines.
- For many patients, a strong, clear recommendation is enough to accept recommended vaccines. Others may need more information. Use the SHARE approach to help patients make informed decisions about vaccinations.
- Many patients are looking for reassurance from you that vaccines are safe and effective. Know the benefits and side effects of all vaccines your practice administers, so you’re prepared to talk with your patients before recommending and administering the vaccine.
- If patients decline vaccination, keep the door open and revisit vaccines at the next appointment.
Ensure your patients are up to date on routine vaccines.
- Talk to your prenatal patients about missed vaccines and assess vaccination status at every prenatal visit.
- Flu seasons vary in their timing from season to season, but make sure your pregnant patients receive flu vaccine by the end of October. This timing helps protect your pregnant patients before flu activity begins to increase.
- Be a champion for vaccination in your practice by ensuring all staff share a consistent message with patients about the importance of vaccination during pregnancy.
- Talk to parents about missed vaccines and assess vaccination status at every visit.
- The immunization schedule is carefully designed to provide protection early, before children are exposed to potentially serious diseases. By ensuring your patients are vaccinated, you’ll be protecting them from 16 serious diseases.
- Be a champion for vaccination in your practice by ensuring all staff share a consistent message with parents about the importance of childhood vaccines.
- Talk to your adult patients about missed vaccines and assess vaccination status at every visit.
- It is especially important patients with chronic health conditions be up to date on their vaccinations, since they are at increased risk for complications from certain vaccine-preventable diseases.
- Be a champion for vaccination in your practice by ensuring all staff share a consistent message with adult patients about the importance of vaccines for their health.
Vaccine-preventable diseases are still a threat. Vaccination is the best protection.
- Changes in immune, heart, and lung functions during pregnancy make a pregnant woman more likely to get seriously ill from the flu.
- Pertussis and flu are both common in this country, but only 1 in 3 US pregnant women receive both influenza (flu) and whooping cough vaccines.
- During the first few months of life, infants are at greatest risk of contracting pertussis and having severe, potentially life-threatening complications. Tdap vaccination during pregnancy helps protect infants until they can get their own vaccines.
- While many serious diseases are no longer common in the United States, these diseases still exist and can spread when children aren’t vaccinated. The 2019 measles outbreaks are a reminder of how quickly these diseases can spread when children aren’t vaccinated.
- We still see many cases of pertussis. Since 2010, between 15,000 and 50,000 cases of whooping cough have been reported each year in the United States.
- Every year, over 30,000 men and women are diagnosed with a cancer caused by HPV. HPV vaccination could prevent most of these cancers from ever developing.
- Every year, thousands of adults in the United States become seriously ill and are hospitalized because of diseases vaccines can help prevent. Many adults even die from these diseases.
- Adult vaccination rates are low in the United States. Most adults are not aware that they need vaccines.
- Adults with chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease are at greater risk for severe complications from certain vaccine-preventable diseases. Some vaccine-preventable diseases, like flu, can make glucose control more difficult for diabetics or increase the risk of another heart attack for those with heart disease.
Page last reviewed: July 13, 2020
Content source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases