Webinar to Discuss How to Handle Alternative Vaccine Schedule Requests

An increasing number of parents are choosing to delay or forgo certain vaccines for their children. How should physicians deal with these requests?

On June 24, 2014, the Pennsylvania Immunization Coalition will be offering a webinar from Noon – 1 PM EST on how to handle requests for alternative vaccine schedules.

There are multiple reasons parents choose an alternative schedule, and parents’ anxiety about harm from vaccines is further reinforced by widespread access to misinformation. This webinar will review the factors that contribute to vaccine hesitancy and highlight specific concerns and misperceptions that contribute to parental fears. Evidence related to the safety of the recommended schedule, the unnecessary risk of alternative schedules, and strategies to support effective communication with parents will be explored.

The webinar will be presented by Kristen Feemster, MD, MPH, MSHPR, a pediatric infectious disease physician and health services researcher at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.