Prepare Now! August is National Immunization Awareness Month

Now is the time to prepare! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have various educational resources and reference materials available in various formats.

“You Call the Shots,” a CDC initiative, is an interactive, web-based immunization course that discusses vaccine-preventable diseases and provides recommendations for vaccine use. CEUs are available for many of the modules. This site provides patient education materials on immunizations, immunization courses, best practices, and information on Quality Improvement projects related to immunizations.

The CDC link below contains a wealth of information and resources – flyers, fact sheets, posters, videos, web buttons, FAQs, and links to other helpful sites.

Education Info About Vaccines and Diseases They Prevent | CDC

CDC also recommends the following best practices to encourage support for the acceptance of vaccinations:

Make residents and their representatives aware of your immunization policy

• Consider sharing your policy on the facility’s website and including it in the admission packet

Make vaccine resources easy to find

• Post a web button on your website that links to CDC’s vaccine website
• Ensure staff have access to easily printed information for patients and their representatives

Review each resident’s vaccination status and prepare them to receive vaccines

• Set up a reminder to prompt staff and let residents and representatives know when vaccines are due, or a resident misses a dose

Make effective recommendations

• Start each vaccine conversation with a presumptive statement, assuming residents will agree to vaccination and explaining when vaccines are due

Answer questions and address concerns

• If a resident or their representative is hesitant, talk with them about their specific concerns and explain the risks /benefits

Implement policies and procedures that help staff support vaccination

• Ensure competency-based vaccine training is incorporated into existing staff training and in new staff orientation
• Ensure clear policies and procedures are in place for safe vaccine storage, preparation, and administration

Schedule upcoming vaccinations before the resident is discharged

• Discuss/review upcoming vaccinations coming due during the discharge process and assist residents with scheduling as needed

References:

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/ed/youcalltheshots.html

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/your-practice.html