How to Have Productive Vaccine Conversations – Moving the Needle Towards Vaccine Acceptance
Vaccines, particularly the COVID-19 vaccine, can be a polarizing and uncomfortable topic. Healthcare professionals are the most reliable source for vaccine-related information and can be the primary factor in whether an individual decides to be vaccinated. Healthcare providers may lack confidence in sharing vaccine-related information with patients and family members.
In this May 13 education session, Kylie Hall, MPH, Center for Immunization Research and Education, reviewed and provided examples of strategies to overcome vaccine hesitancy. She outlines communication strategies to better engage in more productive conversations with patients, colleagues, friends and family. She also discusses ways to build trust, respect concerns and offer productive responses to some of the most challenging statements; examples provided centered around medical encounters, but can be applicable outside of the healthcare environment.
Two Years on a Pandemic Frontline: Lessons Learned and Reflections for the Academy
Dr. Paul Carson, MD, FACP, Medical Director of CIRE, recently gave a lecture to the North Dakota State University (NDSU). Dr. Carson shared how vaccines have been one of the greatest public health accomplishments of the last century, and how those accomplishments are threatened by health misinformation and a rising tide of vaccine hesitancy. Dr. Carson explores the historical and psychological roots of vaccine hesitancy, and how the NDSU Center for Immunization Research and Education have worked to address these problems. Finally, he reflects on some of the lessons learned in public health from the COVID-19 pandemic, and how some of those lessons may have broader applicability.
The Center for Immunization Research and Education addresses trends in vaccine coverage through research and education and finds ways to improve vaccine acceptance and immunization rates in both children and adults. The goal is to have no one in our region suffer from a vaccine-preventable disease. Learn more.