Annual influenza vaccination is recommended for everyone 6 months of age or older who does not have a contraindication, but vaccine uptake was suboptimal among adults and children during the most recent season. In anticipation of influenza season, tune into to this podcast featuring audio from a live webinar to listen as experts Mary Barna Bridgeman, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, and Jana Shaw, MD, MPH, MS, FAAP, FPIDS, discuss viral activity during 2025-2026 influenza season and explore strategies to improve your confidence in optimizing influenza vaccine uptake for pediatric and adult patients.
Currently, annual influenza vaccination is recommended for everyone 6 months of age or older who do not have a contraindication, but vaccine uptake was suboptimal among adults and children during the most recent season. In anticipation of influenza season, tune into to this podcast featuring audio from a live webinar to listen as experts Mary Barna Bridgeman, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP, and Jana Shaw, MD, MPH, MS, FAAP, FPIDS, discuss the 2025-2026 influenza season and explore strategies to improve your confidence in optimizing influenza vaccine uptake for pediatric and adult patients. To download the accompanying slides, and view additional activities, visit the program page.
Topics covered in this podcast include:
Get access to all of our new podcasts by subscribing to the Decera Clinical Education Infectious Disease Podcast on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, or Spotify.
Presenters:
Mary Barna Bridgeman, PharmD, BCPS, BCGP
Clinical Professor
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Piscataway, New Jersey
Internal Medicine Clinical Pharmacy Specialist
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital-New Brunswick
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Jana Shaw, MD, MPH, MS, FAAP, FPIDS
Professor of Pediatrics, Public Health, and Preventive Medicine
Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Hospital Epidemiologist, Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital
SUNY Upstate Medical University
Syracuse, New York
This transcript was automatically generated from the audio recording and may contain inaccuracies, including errors or typographical mistakes.
A Path to Protection Podcast: Purposeful Solutions to Power Up Influenza Vaccine Uptake
Hello and welcome to the Decera Clinical Education Infectious Disease podcast. I'm your host, Kimberly Miller. Today's episode features audio from a live webinar discussing vaccine uptake and viral activity during the twenty twenty-five/twenty twenty-six influenza season, and exploring strategies to help you optimize influenza vaccine uptake, both for your pediatric and adult patients.
I'm joined by experts Mary Barna Bridgeman and Jana Shaw. This episode is part of a larger educational program titled A Path to Protection: Purposeful Solutions to Power Up Influenza Vaccine Uptake. For more information on Mary and Jana, along with a link to the larger educational program, please visit the show notes for this episode.
With that, I will turn it over to our faculty, starting with Dr. Bridgman. Thank you so much, Kimberly, and thank you for inviting me to present in [00:01:00] July, I admit I always find it hard to imagine that influenza and viral respiratory illness season is just around the corner.
But in reality, we know that in most parts of the United States, the season for flu is really the late fall, the winter, and even the early spring months. In order to set up our discussion today for the upcoming influenza season and vaccine recommendations, I do think it is helpful to take a look backward and reflect on our experience regarding vaccine uptake and viral activity, starting with the twenty twenty-five/twenty twenty-six influenza season.
So if we look back at influenza vaccine uptake and viral activity for the twenty twenty-five, twenty twenty-six influenza season, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC's FluView website data, influenza positive tests really started to pick up last fall in November. [00:02:00] We reached a peak in influenza activity during late December, right around New Year's, and had seen some persisting influenza activity, especially with influenza B circulating at lower levels into this past spring, into April and even May of twenty twenty-six.
During the past influenza season, in cases where viral subtyping was performed we know that influenza A H3N2 was the predominant subtype identified, followed by influenza A H1N1, the PDM09, and influenza B viruses. Regarding influenza vaccine uptake statistics, vaccine uptake was suboptimal among adults and children during our most recent twenty twenty-five, twenty twenty-six influenza season.
Again, here, looking at data from CDC's FluVaxView as of March seventh of twenty twenty-six, a total of a hundred and thirty-five point six [00:03:00] million doses of flu vaccine had been distributed across the United States. Now, that said, fewer than fifty percent of adults and children were vaccinated. As of February, the estimate is forty-six point five percent of adults aged eighteen or older received a flu vaccine.
And as of May, forty-nine point three percent of children aged six months to seventeen were estimated to have received their flu vaccine. During the twenty twenty-five, twenty twenty-six flu season, the CDC reported that approximately ninety percent of the reported pediatric flu deaths occurred in children who were not fully vaccini-- vaccinated against influenza.
The national goal for influenza vaccination, according to the Healthy People 2030 initiative from the US Department of Health and Human Services, is to reach and to vaccinate seventy percent of people aged six months or older against influenza.
So we can see there's a real [00:04:00] discrepancy between that national goal of seventy percent of individuals aged six months or older receiving their vaccine versus the reality of our vaccine uptake experience from this past season that really suggests about fifty percent of people are actually getting their vaccine.
I think it represents an opportunity. It represents an opportunity for us as healthcare providers and really across the entire immunization community to have an impact here as we prepare for the twenty twenty-six/twenty twenty-seven influenza season ahead. With that, I want to talk a little bit about influenza vaccine selection and a little bit about the clinical evidence surrounding the outcomes associated with receipt of the influenza vaccine.
The benefits of receiving an annual influenza vaccine are significant. According to the US CDC, looking back a little bit further now, going back to the twenty twenty-four/twenty twenty-five [00:05:00] influenza season, receipt of the flu vaccine was associated or prevented an estimated ten million flu-related illnesses, an estimated five million flu-related medical visits, an estimated a hundred and eighty thousand flu-related hospitalizations, and twelve thousand flu-related deaths in the United States alone.
Influenza vaccination, is associated with a reduction in laboratory-confirmed influenza cases, in influenza-related outpatient hospital and emergency department visits, in ICU admissions, and related to influenza-associated mortality. Receipt of an annual flu vaccine may additionally reduce the risk of influenza-related complications, which can be life-threatening.
Even if an individual contracts the flu after they've received their influenza vaccine, having received the vaccine is likely to translate into a less severe course of illness. Vaccination may [00:06:00] also reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular effects and may reduce the risk of exacerbating underlying chronic health conditions like heart failure or COPD, which we know can be triggered by viral, uh, or influenza infection.
Receipt, of course, in the vaccine in pregnancy also confers protection to not just mom, but also to the infant, especially during the first few months of that newborn's life. For this year's twenty-twenty six/twenty-twenty seven influenza vaccines, the vaccines will again be trivalent, and they will all contain two influenza A subtypes and one influenza B subtype.
All of the vaccines, contain an influenza A H1N1 PDM09-like virus, an A-- an influenza A H3N2-like virus, which has been updated in response to the emergence of subclade [00:07:00] K activity that became so widespread during our past flu season, as well as an influenza B Victoria lineage-like virus.
It's also worth mentioning that there are a number of vaccine formulations that we are anticipating to be available and approved for this year's influenza season. There is a novel influenza vaccine formulation that is currently being evaluated by the FDA
so this is a plug to encourage you to keep current. Notably, I just want to mention the types of influenza vaccines that are available, and those include the standard dose inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine, the cell culture-based trivalent inactivated standard dose influenza vaccine, the adjuvanted trivalent standard dose influenza vaccine, and the high-dose trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine.
So we have a multitude of formulations of our inactivated influenza vaccines to be aware of. We also [00:08:00] have, as of March twenty-twenty five, the recombinant influenza vaccine of the trivalent formulation approved for use in individuals nine and above.
Um, we're also anticipating the return of the live attenuated trivalent influenza vaccine, the nasal spray, to return for this flu season. This formulation was approved for at-home self or caregiver administration for the twenty-twenty five/twenty-twenty six season. When I think about selecting an appropriate influenza vaccine for a specific patient, I encourage everyone to really be mindful of the influenza vaccine licensing, including the approved age groups and populations for intended use, realizing that not all influenza vaccines are interchangeable, and selection of an appropriate influenza vaccine formulation really depends on several factors, and these can include an individual's age considerations for underlying health [00:09:00] conditions or immune status pr-pregnancy status.
Last year's season, we saw a preferential recommendation or advice to use, uh, the pre-filled thimerosal-free formulations for those who are pregnant. Consideration of course for allergies, potential contraindications, as well as route of administration. Please also review the influenza vaccine products that you will stock in your practice site, in your pharmacy or clinical setting.
These vaccines have different age groups that they're approved for use in, and you want to be able to avoid vaccine mix-up as a potentially preventable source of error. Know your products, know their indications, and know the approved groups for use. I mentioned earlier that h- to have a, a fully vaccinated status, especially for children that's aged six months through eight years of age, is particularly important.
So I do want to share the influenza vaccine dosing algorithm for children [00:10:00] aged six months through eight years who are receiving their influenza vaccine for the first time this flu season. It's important to keep in mind children in this age group, aged six months through eight years, who have not previously received a flu shot or who haven't pre- previously received two doses of a trivalent or quadrivalent flu vaccine four or more weeks apart during a previous flu season, they require two separate doses of the influenza vaccine spaced four weeks apart in order to be considered fully vaccinated.
Missing that second influenza vaccine dose leaves these children partially protected and may perhaps be vulnerable to contracting the flu. Jana, I know you're a pediatric infectious disease expert, so I just wanted to ask if you wanted to weigh in or provide any advice as part of our presentid [00:11:00] presentation today about how are, are you in your practice ensuring that these younger children receiving this dose the first, for the first season, how are you ensuring that they know to come back, that their caregivers know to come back for that second dose in the series?
Yeah. Thank you, Mary. I think it's really important we share our experience about vaccinating children. I'm here today at a busy federally qualified health center where we already started a conversation about influenza vaccination, and I think what the most important, um, clinical strategy is to recognize that the job isn't finished after the first influenza vaccine dose for those children.
You know, in our practice, we identify children by reviewing their vaccination history in the EHR. We also review the state immunization registry before and during the visit, and the biggest really practical tip is to schedule the second dose appointment before the family leaves the clinic. [00:12:00] We don't rely on families to remember.
We pair that with automated text and portal reminders and use standing orders so the healthcare team can vaccinate efficiently at any eligible visit Finally, we treat every encounter as an opportunity to vaccinate. That would be well-child visit, mild sick visit, or a follow-up as an opportunity to assess influenza vaccination status.
These simple workflows strategies significantly reduce missed opportunities in our practice and also help ensure that children receive the full protection they need before the influenza begins circulating in our community.
For brevity's sake, I want to hit just some of the key points of this, uh, of this comparative analysis of immune response to the seasonal inactivated flu vaccines. This was a very small immunologic study that was conducted in fifty-two healthy adult participants who were [00:13:00] categorized based on their age.
So again, sort of broken down into younger adults aged twenty-eight to sixty years, and then older adults aged sixty-five to eighty-five years. Participants were vaccinated with one of four influenza vaccines, either egg or cell-based, adjuvanted or high dose. And then investigators had collected blood samples prior to and after vaccination, where they analyzed the hemagglutination inhibition, or the HAI activity, uh, antibody , secreting cell activity, and hemagglutinin-specific compartments, uh, associated with the immune response.
The investigators here found that high-dose influenza vaccines induced a superior cellular immunity in older adults, while the cell-based vaccines enhanced early T-cell responses in younger populations. So again, this is a small immunologic study but I think what's [00:14:00] in-interesting to point out or be aware of, I think there's a suggestion here that antigen dose is critical for aging immune systems, whereas perhaps it's the vaccine production method that may drive the early immune response in younger adults.
I'm looking for clinical data now to sort of, uh, bring some elaboration to these findings. I do want to point out in our older adults, there are some preferential recommendations, or according to the ACIP recommendations for twenty twenty-five, twenty twenty-six, there was a preferential recommendation that our older adults aged sixty-five and older receive either a high-dose inactivated trivalent influenza vaccine, the recombinant trivalent influenza vaccine, or the adjuvant trivalent influenza vaccine.
Um, so realizing that these vaccines carry this preferential recommendation, which we are likely to see for the flu season ahead, is important. Of [00:15:00] course, the recommendation stands that if these vaccines aren't available at the time of vaccine administration, the best influenza vaccine is the one that the patient actually receives.
So any other age-appropriate influenza vaccine can be administered in that instance Just a word on shared clinical decision-making as well. Uh, this is a decision process between a healthcare provider and a patient or a patient's caregiver about a vaccine or another health-related decision. Just to recap the status of influenza vaccine shared clinical decision-making recommendations, in January of twenty twenty-six, the CDC and HHS changed several pediatric vaccines from universal recommendations to the shared clinical decision-making framework.
However, in March of twenty twenty-six, a federal judge issued an injunction which has temporarily stopped these changes. Uh, litigation [00:16:00] is ongoing related to this issue, and the universal influenza vaccine guidance for everyone aged six months or older currently remain in effect. Jana, a-again, as a pediatric expert, I can't help but ask you to weigh in here.
A-any reaction to the confusion or to the, the status of pediatric influenza vaccine guidance, or comment on the shared clinical decision-making framework and maybe some of the challenges this poses? Yeah, absolutely, Mary. Thank you for asking. This is, um, a big concern for me as, uh, the impact of inconsistent vaccine recommendation and frequent policy changes can have on a public trust.
For decades, the US vaccine policy has been built on a transparent evidence-based process through ACIP's evidence to recommendation framework, giving clinicians and researchers recommendations [00:17:00] that were grounded in rigorous science. When these recommendations change outside the familiar process or when vaccines move from routine recommendation to shared clinical decision-making without a clear explanation, it can create confusion for both the providers, families, and, and public in general.
And it can create the impression that there is new evidence, new data, maybe safety concerns that drive those changes when the f- the truth is there were none. So the recent federal court ruling really reinforces an important point. Uh, the evidence supporting vaccine safety and effectiveness has not changed, and as such, the current recommendations have reverted to those that were in place before the policy changes made after May twenty twenty-five So for the audience, for the practitioners, it's rem- important to remember that it's business as usual.
If you have routinely [00:18:00] recommended influenza vaccine, which certainly hope you did in the past seasons, you should continue to do so. The science has not changed. It's only the policy process that has changed, and, uh, there has been put hold on the policy. So the routine recommendation for influenza vaccination, including in children is in place.
Fantastic. So I did wanna just summarize the influenza vaccine recommendations for the twenty twenty-five/twenty twenty-six flu season. Uh, universal influenza vaccine recommendation for everyone aged six months or older is a message that has been articulated by our professional medical societies and associations.
That includes the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Position- Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, as well as others. The FDA and vaccine manufacturers will still determine the approved influenza vaccine formulations and release of the vaccines for this [00:19:00] year.
Flu vaccine should ideally occur by the end of October. However, I would encourage everyone to keep in mind it's never too late to immunize, and that we should keep vaccinating as long as we've got unexpired product available. Also, do keep in mind and keep an eye out for recommendations for vaccination for older adults, keeping in mind that, uh, we may see those preferential administration recommendations for the high-dose recombinant and adjuvanted influenza vaccines carried forward for this season as well.
We're gonna turn things over to Jana to emphasize some of the strategies to improve outcomes related to influenza and influenza vaccine uptake for our season ahead. So let's start by talking briefly about vaccine hesitancy. The term is, uh, pretty widely known and defined in general as a delay in acceptance or refusal of [00:20:00] vaccines despite availability of vaccination services.
It's important to know that it's a complex and context-specific issue that varies across time, place, and is vaccine specific. Uh, one of the most important things to remember is that vaccine hesitancy is not all or nothing. It exists as continuum most parents are not firmly pro vaccines or anti-vaccine.
Their decisions often change depending on the vaccine, their child's age, their personal experiences, and the information they receive. The greatest opportunity is the vaccine hesitant group, the people who are on the fence, parents who are unsure, delay some vaccines, or want more information.
These conversations should not be perceived as barriers. They are opportunities for us to build trust. The key point is that vaccine hesitancy or vaccine questioning is a context-specific and dynamic [00:21:00] process. It can be fixed for some patients, and nothing that we can say or do will change their mind when they are firmly against vaccines.
However, for some patients, it can change over time. For those patients, it's the empathic, compassionate, and evidence-based communication that can really make a difference and lead to vaccine acceptance
So let's talk about some of the important factors that contribute to vaccine hesitancy. This is the model of the three Cs. Highlights the three of the most common drivers of vaccine hesitancy: complacency, convenience, and, uh, confidence.
Understanding those, um, uh, we will understand what influenced parents' decision or patient's decision and will help us tailor our conversation rather than providing the same response to everyone. It allows you to tailor your vaccine communication to your patient. Complacency in [00:22:00] general reflects a low perceived risk of disease.
Those would be parents who may say, "My child never gets sick. Influenza is just a bad cold." These conversations are an opportunity to explain that influenza can cause serious complications, hospitalization, and even death in otherwise healthy children, and that vaccination remains the best way to prevent severe illness.
Convenience refers to barriers that make vaccination difficult. Parents, uh, may worry about taking time off work or their child feeling unwell after vaccination, leaving parents stuck at home when they need to be at work. We can help by offering vaccines at every eligible visit, providing flexible scheduling, minimizing wait times, and making it easy for families to complete a recommended series.
Confidence relates to trust in the vaccines, the healthcare system, and the provider. Parents often ask whether [00:23:00] vaccines are safe or whether the benefits outweigh the risks. These conversations require empathy and active listening. And I typically begin with a strong and presumptive recommendation and then pivot to motivational interviewing to understand the parents' specific concerns and provide evidence-based information that addresses what matters most to them.
Ultimately, identifying whether hesitation stems from complacency, convenience, or confidence allows us to move from simply providing information to having a meaningful conversation with our patients that builds trust and improves vaccines acceptance
Motivational interviewing is one of the most effective communication strategies for addressing vaccine hesitancy because it shifts the conversation from persuading to partnering. The goal is not to convince patients that they are wrong, but to understand their concerns, [00:24:00] build trust, and support informed decision-making.
The first step is to ask open-ended questions. Instead of assuming why a parent is hesitant, ask questions such as, "Can you tell me what concerns you most about the influenza vaccine?" or, "What have you heard that makes you uncertain?" This allows parents to share their beliefs and help you identify the root of their hesitation.
Next, reflect and respond. Active listening demonstrates empathy and helps parents feel heard. For example, I might say, "It sounds like you're worried your child will get sick after the vaccine," or, "I can understand why you find conflicting information online and that would be confusing." Uh, one point I'd like to make here, it's important that you don't restate uh, misinformation if parent, um, raises a concern that is [00:25:00] simply not accurate, and rather reframe it in a more general context.
Restating misinformation can further affirm their beliefs. Acknowledging that parents want to make the best decision for their child helps build rapport. After understanding their concerns, use the ask, provide, and verify approach. First, ask permission. For example, you can say, "Would it be okay if I shared what we know about the influenza vaccines?"
Then provide concise evidence-based information that's tailored to their concern. And finally, verify understanding by asking, "How does that information fit with what you were thinking? What questions do you still have?" This keeps the conversation collaborative rather than one-sided. And finally, summarize the discussion and determine the next step together.
If the family is ready, vaccinate during that [00:26:00] visit. If they are not, acknowledge where they are in their decision-making, encourage them to continue asking question, and leave the door open for future conversations and vaccination. The motivational interviewing is not about winning an argument, it's about building trust.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a valuable lesson about communicating with patients and families about vaccines. While the vaccines were different, many of the communication strategies that proved effective are equally applicable to influenza and routine childhood immunizations. First, validate concerns and answer questions.
Rather than immediately correcting misinformation, acknowledge that parents' concerns are real. Listen first and provide clear evidence-based answers using plain language. Avoid medical jargon and tailor your message to what matters most to that family. Second, discuss what [00:27:00] vaccination makes possible.
During the pandemic, vaccination was often framed as a pathway back to normal life, allowing children to return to school, sports, family gatherings, and other important activities. Similarly, influenza vaccination helps children stay healthy, learn at school, and it reduces disruptions for families. Third, emphasize protection.
Parents are motivated by protecting what they value most. Frame vaccination as a way to protect not only their child but also siblings, grandparents, classmates, and others in the community who may be more vulnerable to severe illness. And finally, maintain a positive and respectful tone. Parents are more likely to engage when they feel respected rather than judged.
A strong recommendation is important, but it should be delivered with empathy I also often acknowledge that a final decision belongs [00:28:00] to the parent while reassuring them that my recommendation is based on the best available evidence and my commitment to keeping their child healthy. And again, as I mentioned earlier, the overarching lesson is building trust.
Uh, facts alone may not convince parents and may not change their mind, but it's the trusting, compassion, empathic relationship that you're building with the parent or with your patient that may make that difference
While strong provider recommendations and effective communications are essential, they're not enough on their own. Improving vaccination rates also require a strong system that support vaccination, make it easy, and default choice. The first step is maintaining an accurate immunization record in the electronic medical record and regularly reconciling with the state immunization registry if you don't have the bi-directional flow like we do in New York State.
Clinical [00:29:00] decision support within the EMR can automatically identify patients who are due or overdue for vaccines and prompt the healthcare team to offer vaccination at every encounter, not just well-child visits. Another are highly effective strategies using reminder and recall systems. We know that families often intend to vaccinate but simply forget or miss the opportunity.
Automated text messages, patient portal reminders, phone calls, postcards, and letters have all been shown to improve vaccine uptake. These systems are even more effective when they paired with a personal recommendation from a trusted healthcare provider or outreach worker like yourself.
Standing orders are another evidence-based interven- intervention. They allow nurses and pharmacists and other qualified healthcare professionals to assess vaccine eligibility and administer vaccines without waiting for an individual physician order. This [00:30:00] reduces missed opportunities, improves workflows, and ensures that every eligible patient can be vaccinated during hospitalization, urgent care visits, or routine office visits.
The key message is that high vaccination rates are achieved through systems, not memory. As such, combining provider recommendations with EMR prompts, reminder and recall systems, standing orders, and vaccinating at every eligible opportunity, we can substantially reduce missed opportunities and improve protection for our children and communities
One of the simplest and most effective strategies to improve vaccine uptake is how we recommend a vaccine. Research has consistently shown that a strong, clear, presumptive recommendation from a trusted healthcare provider is one of the strongest predictors of vaccine acceptance. A presumptive recommendation assumes that vaccination is the expected standard of care.
Instead of asking whether [00:31:00] parents want the vaccine, we recommend it with confidence. For example, I say, "Today, we will give the influenza vaccine along with the other recommended vaccines." This approach communicates confidence and normalizes vaccination as part of routine preventive care.
In contrast, what's known as participatory recommendation, such as, "Would you like your child to get a flu vaccine today?" It un- in- unintentionally suggests that vaccination is optional, or that a provider is uncertain about its importance, and studies have shown that this approach is associated with lower vaccine acceptance.
That said, a presumptive recommendation does not mean that we are ignoring parents' concern. If a parent hesitates, I don't continue to push. Instead, I transition to motivational interviewing. I ask what concerns them, listen carefully, validate their questions, and [00:32:00] provide evidence-based information tailored to their specific concerns.
This allows me to maintain a strong recommendation while also respecting the family's perspective. I also find it helpful to emphasize the benefits of vaccination rather than focusing only on the disease. For influenza, for example, I explain that vaccination helps protect their child from severe illness and hospitalization, while also helping keep them in school, parents at work, and reducing the spread of influenza to vulnerable family members and the community.
Cultural humility is essential for building trust with families. Unlike cultural competence, it recognizes that we cannot assume we understand a family's beliefs or experiences. Instead, we approach every conversation with curiosity, respect, and a willingness to listen. This means asking open-ended questions, avoiding assumptions, and [00:33:00] recognizing that vaccine decisions may be influenced by culture, personal experiences, or trust in the healthcare system.
By practicing non-judgmental curiosity, deep listening, and self-awareness, we create a collaborative partnership where families feel heard and respected. The goal is simple. When families feel understood, not judged, they're more likely to engage in meaningful conversations and consider our vaccine recommendations
So as I'd like to close by highlighting some of the best practices that increase vaccination uptake. Uh, improving influenza vaccination rates requires more than strong recommendations. It requires a proactive system. Start by using your EHR to identify patients who are due for vaccination, particularly those at higher risk for influenza complications, su- such as children with asthma, diabetes, [00:34:00] or other chronic medical conditions.
As soon as vaccine becomes available, begin outreach through medical-- through multiple channels, patient portal messages, text messages, emails, your website, and social media to let families know it's time to schedule vaccination. Look for every opportunity to vaccinate. If siblings or parents are in the office, offer vaccination to them as well.
This improves convenience and protects the entire household. Consider nurse-run influenza clinics during evenings or weekends to make it easy for parents and patients to get vaccinated. Sending orders and dedicated vaccine visits improve access and reduce missed opportunities. And remember, for children younger than nine years of age who need two influenza vaccine doses, schedule the second appointment before the family leaves the office and use reminder texts or calls to improve series [00:35:00] completion.
Finally, remember that influenza season can extend well into the spring. Continue recommending and offering influenza vaccine throughout the season as long as influenza viruses are circulating and vaccine remains available. The key message here is that the successful vaccination program is proactive, team-based, and built around making vaccination as easy and convenient as possible for families.
Thank you, Mary and Jana, and many thanks to you, our listeners, for joining us. As a reminder, to view the full program, A Path to Protection: Purposeful Solutions to Power Up Influenza Vaccine Uptake, please click the link in the show notes, and be sure to check back regularly for more episodes on important infectious disease topics