Jennifer Donahue
Communications Manager, WCAAP
With nearly 85,000 children ages 0-18 infected with COVID-19 in Washington state since the start of the pandemic, it’s clear that the COVID-19 virus spares no one. That’s why WCAAP is doing all we can to support efforts to vaccinate children ages 12 and older and to improve family confidence in COVID-19 vaccines, with support from the Department of Health. We have a few initiatives in the works that may help you have conversations with families about the importance and safety of these vaccines:
Webinars: Increasing Family Confidence in COVID-19 Vaccines
These four 30-minute webinars, scheduled for Wednesday mornings at 7:00AM August 11-September 1 will pair vaccine communication experts Drs. John Dunn and Doug Opel with community pediatricians Drs. Yolanda Evans, Maria Huang, Kristi Rice and Jasmin Zavala to talk about some of the unique challenges that COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy presents and how to deal with them in your clinic. We’re allowing ample time for Q & A so bring your questions and be sure to invite others from your clinic to register. We will repeat the series later in the fall if/when vaccines are authorized for children under 12. Register here!
FAQ for Parents
We learned that a simple FAQ document for parents that did not have CDC or DOH branding would be helpful, so we created one and have made it available in 10 languages on our website. https://wcaap.org/vaccines/covid-19-vaccines/ You’ll also find discussion guides, toolkits, and other helpful resources on the same page.
Partnering with Washington State PTA
WCAAP is partnering with the Washington State PTA to offer a virtual town hall-style forum at 7:00PM on August 17th to address parents’ questions and concerns about going back to school, including COVID-19 concerns, catching up on routine childhood vaccinations, COVID-19 vaccines, and behavioral health. Our thanks to WCAAP members Drs. Jasmin Zavala and Frank Bell for participating in the forum. We will also be joined by Lacy Fehrenbach, Deputy Secretary of Health for COVID-19 Response at DOH and Lisa Barrois, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Please share this opportunity with the parents in your community!
In the news
WCAAP leaders are speaking up on COVID-19 issues that impact children – in recent days we’ve seen these familiar faces on the news:
- Dr. Michael Barsotti, WCAAP president – Spokane Regional Health District
- Dr. Frank Bell, WCAAP board member – Seattle Times
- Dr. Elizabeth Meade, WCAAP past president – KIRO 7 TV, Seattle Met, Bloomberg
- Dr. Luis Garcia Tillan, WCAAP member – Univision
If you would like help reaching out to your local media outlets, let us know – we can help with talking points and connect you with local reporters.