To date, roughly 10.6 million (37%) children ages 5-11 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, indicating there is opportunity to encourage the uptake of vaccines. Health care providers and health systems are working to overcome challenges to administering the COVID-19 vaccine.
These challenges include vaccine hesitancy, particularly among marginalized groups, or a lack of trusted information. Pediatricians have extensive expertise in discussing and providing vaccinations in the ambulatory setting, and patients and families have long viewed pediatricians as a reliable source for vaccine information. Despite this, the logistics, tensions and urgency surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine present several obstacles to achieving the desired vaccination rates for children and their caregivers.
Like many health care organizations, Golisano Children’s Hospital in Rochester, New York, understands the advantages of using the pediatric outpatient medical home to vaccinate both pediatric patients and their guardians for COVID-19. Given the critical need to capitalize on all opportunities to provide vaccinations, and to overcome the challenges in providing vaccines broadly, the hospital expanded its vaccination efforts. This included a multimodal team- and community-based approach of shared expertise to meet patients and caregivers wherever they are—including primary care, community and inpatient settings.
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