Central California Alliance for Health | Living Healthy | December 2019

HEALTHY 4 Birth HepB (1 of 3) 2 months HepB (2 of 3) Rotavirus* (1 of 2 or 3) DTaP (1 of 5) Hib (1 of 3 or 4) PCV (1 of 4) IPV (1 of 4) 4 months Rotavirus* (2 of 2 or 3) DTaP (2 of 5) Hib (2 of 3 or 4) PCV (2 of 4) IPV (2 of 4) 6 months HepB (3 of 3) Rotavirus* (3 of 3) DTaP (3 of 5) Hib** (3 of 3 or 4) PCV (3 of 4) IPV (3 of 4) Flu*** (1 of 2) Vaccines babies and children need Feedback, from members like you! The Alliance has been reaching out to families, like yours, to understand their experience with immunizing (vaccinating) their children. We would like to thank the families who have given us the opportunity to hear their great and honest feedback. So far, we have learned that most families believe vaccines are important ! The good news is our members know where to get their child vaccinated (at their doctor’s office) and have a safe place to store their child’s immunization/vaccine record (folders, purses and other safe places). Areas of concern for parents Why does my child have to get so many shots at once? How safe are they? Many vaccines are recommended for infants and children to protect them from infectious diseases. Some of the vaccines are offered in a combination vaccine to reduce the number of shots. These combination vaccines have been given since the mid-1940s and are safe. If more than one shot is given at a doctor visit, they are usually given in different arms or legs. What is in the vaccine? Doctors give a “Vaccine Information Sheet” handout after a child gets vaccines. We heard from members that this is not the best way to answer questions families have about what is in the vaccines. See the CDC’s (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) website for an easy- to-understand guide of what is in vaccines: cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/ additives.htm . Information on social media Families also shared that they use social media and the internet to learn about vaccines and are concerned by stories they see online. False information is often posted on social media (Facebook, Google, YouTube, etc.) without anyone’s control. If you are looking for information on vaccines, the Alliance recommends going to the CDC’s website to get accurate information at cdc.gov/vaccines/ index.html . Patient and doctor relationship Families shared that they do not always see the same doctor at every visit, making it difficult to build a relationship with a doctor or clinic. It can be hard to continue conversations about vaccines if a different doctor is seen at each visit. The Alliance recommends writing down your questions before each visit to help get all of your questions answered. If you are not able to see the same doctor, tell the new doctor what was talked about at the last visit to continue the conversation.