St. Jude coloring book teaches children about COVID-19 vaccination

On the heels of the authorization of Pfizer and BioNTech’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital introduced a colorful way to help teach children about what happens when they get vaccinated.

A St. Jude Kids Coloring Book: COVID-19 Vaccines was cowritten by faculty members at St. Jude and is the latest of three books published by the hospital meant to inform children about the COVID-19 pandemic, having been preceded by a coloring book and an activity book both called Learn About the Coronavirus.

Niki Jurbergs, PhD, director of the psychology clinic at St. Jude, and her team consulted on all three books.

“The coloring books in particular, I think, are a really exciting way that we can supply parents and children — even very young children — with sort of a variety of medical and psychoeducational informational needs,” Jurbergs told Healio in an interview. “For this coloring book, in particular, I was really excited to [offer] support because getting our children vaccinated against COVID-19 is just so, so important to us here at the hospital, and to all of us as we try to get through this pandemic.”

In addition to the psychology team, which worked on making the language child friendly, infectious disease experts at St. Jude provided crucial information for the book. The illustrations were provided by Emily VanGilder, a graphic artist at the hospital.

One page likens the body’s immune system after vaccination to “a team of superheroes that protect you from germs.”

“The vaccine teaches your immune system how to make antibodies. Antibodies lock on to the virus so it can be destroyed,” the next page says.

Although hard copies of the book will be limited to St. Jude itself and to family spots in the Memphis area, it also can be accessed online as a free download at together.stjude.org/coloring.

Jurbergs said she and her colleagues hope the book will inform not only children, but their parents as well.

“A lot of times, [vaccination is] sort of an ‘all or nothing’ for a family, and a lot of times parents are willing to do things to protect their children that they wouldn't necessarily do to protect themselves, putting their children first,” Jurbergs said. “It's very possible that it could encourage them or make them feel more comfortable getting themselves vaccinated as well.”