Dialing up the urgency to catch up on recommended adolescent vaccines, and embracing vaccines to protect against COVID-19.

Unity Consortium is hosting a thought-leader discussion, moderated by Dr. Chelsea Clinton, to share the urgency of getting vaccinated now, before summer when most adolescents and young adults (AYAs) may be broadly eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.

Throughout the pandemic, AYA well visit and vaccination rates dropped dramatically. Concerns about spreading COVID-19, schools going virtual, and the reduced need for sports physicals paused routine in-person health care visits. Rates began to rebound lately; however, a significant gap remains especially for adolescents.

Some parents remain hesitant to visit healthcare providers for well visits and vaccinations due to safety concerns, according to a Unity survey and Unity’s mom advisory council. Many lower-income families face additional challenges related to taking public transportation to visit healthcare providers and childcare needs. People are confused by disinformation regarding safety of well visits and vaccinations; seeds of doubt on vaccines are often sowed and inflamed on social media.

Plummeting immunization rates result in increasing susceptibility to vaccine-preventable illness. This gap is even more pronounced for vulnerable populations including minority and lower-income families.