Enhancing Pediatric Vaccination Through Science and Trust: A Guide for Healthcare Teams

Vaccination has long been recognized as one of the most effective public health interventions, preventing millions of deaths and significantly reducing the incidence of infectious diseases worldwide. Despite its success, vaccine hesitancy—a reluctance or delay in accepting vaccines despite availability—remains a critical challenge to achieving optimal immunization coverage. This hesitancy, driven by factors such as misinformation, mistrust, and concerns about safety, threatens to undermine public health efforts and the broader goal of herd immunity.

Studies reveal that parents often consider health care professionals (HCPs) their most trusted source of vaccine information. However, many HCPs feel unprepared to counter misinformation, explain the science of vaccines, or address specific concerns effectively. Comprehensive education on vaccinology vaccine development, safety monitoring, and public health impacts is essential for equipping HCPs with the tools needed to foster vaccine confidence.

In this interactive infographic activity, an expert faculty in the science and clinical implementation of vaccines provides the foundation for empathetic, evidence-based discussions with patients and caregivers, addressing concerns and promoting informed decision-making. Strengthening these skills is vital to sustaining immunization programs, preventing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, and ensuring the health and well-being of communities worldwide.

At the conclusion of this activity, learners will be able to better:

• Identify the historical and current public health benefits of vaccines
• Develop strategies that integrate vaccinology knowledge with communication techniques to improve vaccine confidence among patients, parents, and caregivers
• Assess the mechanisms of vaccine-induced immune responses and herd immunity thresholds to effectively communicate vaccine efficacy and community protection to patients and their families
• Evaluate the vaccine development and manufacturing process to mitigate childhood and adolescent vaccine hesitancy
• Integrate monitoring strategies and information on the difference between correlation and causation regarding vaccine risks versus diseases to address patient concerns effectively

This activity is supported through an independent educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.

Primary care physicians, pediatricians, family medicine physicians, internists, sub-specialist physicians, physician associates (PAs), nurse practitioners (NPs), nurses, and pharmacists

It is the policy of CME Outfitters, LLC, to ensure independence, balance, objectivity, and scientific rigor and integrity in all of their CE activities. Faculty must disclose to the participants any relationships with commercial companies whose products or devices may be mentioned in faculty presentations, or with the commercial supporter of this CE activity. CME Outfitters, LLC, has evaluated, identified, and mitigated any potential conflicts of interest through a rigorous content validation procedure, use of evidence-based data/research, and a multidisciplinary peer review process. The following information is for participant information only. It is not assumed that these relationships will have a negative impact on the presentations.

Dr. Limaye reports no financial relationships to disclose.

The following individuals have no financial relationships to disclose:

Rebecca Vargas-Jackson, MD (Peer Reviewer)
Jessica Giddens, DNP, APRN, FPMHNP-BC, RN-BC (Peer Reviewer)
Thomas Mitchell, MSW (Planning Committee)
Warren Beckman (Planning Committee)
Scott J. Hershman, MD, FACEHP, CHCP (Planning Committee)
Sandra Caballero, PharmD (Planning Committee)
Sharon Tordoff (Planning Committee)

*All identified conflicts of interest have been mitigated.

Unlabeled Use Disclosure
Faculty of this CME/CE activity may include discussions of products or devices that are not currently labeled for use by the FDA. The faculty have been informed of their responsibility to disclose to the audience if they will be discussing off-label or investigational uses (any uses not approved by the FDA) of products or devices. CME Outfitters, LLC, the faculty, planners, and reviewers do not endorse the use of any product outside of the FDA labeled indications. Medical professionals should not utilize the procedures, products, or diagnosis techniques discussed during this activity without evaluation of their patient for contraindications or dangers of use.

Post-tests, credit request forms, and activity evaluations must be completed online (requires free account activation), and participants can print their certificate or statement of credit immediately (70% pass rate required). This website supports all browsers except Internet Explorer for Mac.

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