Community Partners

For physicians who are advocacy enthusiasts, there are ways to increase influenza vaccination rates at the community level:

WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children)

Immunization interventions in the WIC program seem to improve vaccination coverage in urban areas among disadvantaged, predominantly minority children when used alone or in combination with other interventions. Does the WIC office in your area offer flu immunizations?

Child care facilities

Interventions in child care settings are another possibly effective strategy to improve immunization rates by providing education or by making immunizations available at child care centers. Visit “Preventing the Flu in 2011–2012: Strategies and Resources for Child Care Providers and Out-of-Home Caregivers of Children.”

Schools

School-based programs, which are often collaborations among schools, local health departments, private hospitals, and community clinics, provide a unique opportunity for reaching adolescents.
http://www.preventinfluenza.org/profs_schools.asp

A vaccination program for schools developed by the makers of LAIV is The "Say NOse to Flu" Vaccination Tool Kit (in pdf format). The program currently has four components to help begin planning a school-wide influenza vaccination program: an example of a letter to the principal, a presentation on the importance of vaccination against influenza, implementation guidelines, and an order form for materials. A larger toolkit is expected to be available.

Also available from CDC’s flu Web site is the National Influenza Vaccination Week Media Toolkit that includes topics for speaking to the media about influenza. Topics include:

• Developing Key Messages
• Developing Press Materials
• Preparing for Outreach
• Training Your Spokespeople.