Declining childhood vaccination rates, rising exemptions, and growing vaccine skepticism are creating new challenges for state immunization programs. Kim Martin, director of immunization at ASTHO, discusses how states are responding by looking beyond traditional school vaccination requirements and taking a more holistic approach to access and trust, the focus of a recent Health Policy Update. She highlights efforts to offer vaccines at hospital discharge, expand the range of health professionals who can administer them, remove financial barriers, strengthen communication and data systems, and work with trusted community messengers. Martin explains how these policy changes can make vaccination easier and more routine while helping communities prepare for vaccine-preventable outbreaks.
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