June 02, 2023

Before You Counsel on Vaccines

26 minutes

Providing vaccines is one of the most important health promotion activities that we do. However, it involves much more than just putting in the orders for the various vaccines. In this podcast episode, we will briefly review how vaccines work, the types of vaccines, what you need to do before the visit, what you should review with families before ordering the vaccines (including precautions and contraindications), and anticipatory guidance about vaccines. We will also talk a little bit about how to handle vaccine hesitancy.

List of pediatric vaccines

How vaccines work

Harmless piece of the pathogen that is enough to create immune response

Explaining how vaccines work to parents

Emphasis on protecting the community, not just one person

Analogy of vaccine being like a software update

Analogy of vaccine being like a flame retardant that stops a fire from spreading

Analogy of vaccine being like an insecticide that stops bugs from spreading

Types of vaccines

Live, attenuated vaccines – cannot be given to patients with immunocompromise

Vaccines without live, attenuated pathogen – includes mRNA vaccines

RSV vaccines

Vaccine for older adults and pregnant adults

Monoclonal antibody for infants

What you need to do before the visit

Review the vaccine record

Review the medical record for vaccine contraindications

What you should review with families before ordering the vaccines (including precautions and contraindications)

Current or recent illness

Allergies

Problems with vaccines in the past

Chronic disease

History of intussusception, seizures, neurological problems

History of blood transfusion, immunoglobulin or antiviral medications

Pregnancy

Anticipatory guidance about vaccines

Common side effects are a sign that vaccines are working

Treatment of fever

How to handle vaccine hesitancy

Recommend the vaccines

Ask if they have questions that you can answer

Provide reputable resources

Helping older children with their anxiety about being vaccinated

REFERENCES/LINKS:

www.cdc.gov/vaccines

AAP Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule by Age: https://publications.aap.org/redbook/pages/Immunization-Schedules?autologincheck=redirected

O’Shea P, John J, et al. Reframing the Conversation about Child and Adolescent Vaccines, January 2023, Frameworks Institute. https://www.frameworksinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/reframing-the-conversation-about-child-and-adolescent-vaccinations_Jan272023.pdf

...more