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NVAC looking at venues to implement adolescent vaccination recommendations
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WASHINGTON — The National Vaccine Advisory Committee unanimously agreed upon a set of new recommendations created by the committee’s Adolescent Immunization Working Group for the successful implementation of adolescent vaccination in the United States.
“An important aspect of these recommendations is that they have been vetted by many different national organizations and stakeholders. Even more important is that these recommendations appear to be around which a national consensus to improve adolescent vaccinations can be based,” Gary Freed, MD, MPH, chair of NVAC, told Infectious Diseases in Children.
Freed presented these final recommendations – which addressed the need for a strong vaccine delivery system for both preventive and nonpreventive care visits, the importance of informing adolescents of both the risks and benefits of vaccines, as well as the need to communicate the technical and socioemotional components of the decision to provide or accept vaccines - at the NVAC meeting, here.
Review process
Following a request from the Assistant Secretary of Health several months ago, the working group identified six critical issues facing the U.S. health care system to successfully vaccinate the adolescent population:
- Venues for vaccine implementation.
- Consent for immunizations.
- Communication.
- Financing.
- Surveillance.
- Potential for school mandates.
Although Freed presented the set of recommendations as previously discussed during the February 2008 meeting, the committee addressed further concerns about communicating the importance of adolescent vaccination here.
The working group suggested that, along with advertising with traditional media outlets, other channels should be used, such as email, text messaging and YouTube.
“I have a 12-year-old and 15-year-old daughter and, as a gynecologist, I have been trying to get my daughters to get vaccinated against human papillomavirus, but they were refusing to get the vaccine,” Laura E. Riley, MD, director of labor and delivery and director of infectious disease at Massachusetts General Hospital, said during the meeting. “It took an article in Vogue magazine, which mentioned the HPV vaccine, to finally lead my older daughter to want to get vaccinated. So I think we have to take a broader view and know what media to go after.” – by Jennifer Southall
For more information:
- Freed G. Report from the Adolescent Working Group: discussion and voting of recommendations. Presented at: the NVAC meeting; June 3-4, 2008; Washington.