Childhood COVID-19 Vaccine Poster Project: A Resident-Led Advocacy Campaign

Background Vaccine hesitancy around the COVID-19 vaccine was apparent to pediatric providers even before a vaccine was approved for use in young children. Retrospective data confirmed this hesitation among families in the state of New York where, in 2021, 52% of children aged 5-17 had received a COVID-19 vaccine dose compared to over 96% of adults with uptake lagging primarily among racial and ethnic minority populations. Objective To shift the conversation around vaccination, a group of advocacy-focused pediatric residents joined forces as part of the New York Pediatric Residency Advocacy Coalition (NY PRAC) to address vaccine hesitancy and promote vaccine uptake for pediatric COVID-19 vaccines. Methods NY PRAC held virtual meetings to determine the best approach to disseminate COVID-19 vaccination information, partnered with a pediatric resident to design a visual message to drive patient families to access health literate information, and tracked the spread of accessed information. Qualitative and anecdotal feedback about use of the posters with patient families during clinic visits and hospitalizations were shared by residents at monthly NY PRAC meetings. Results Two versions of the COVID-19 vaccine poster with QR codes linked to vaccine information provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were developed, one in Spanish and one in English. Posters were disseminated to NY PRAC members, which included over 80 residents from over 20 residency programs throughout New York State, who displayed the posters in their respective clinics and hospitals. In the first 12 months of distribution (2021-2022), there were 332 scans of the QR codes: 233 in English and 99 in Spanish; and 107 scans included links to the NY COVID-19 vaccine sign-up page. Anecdotal feedback shared by NY PRAC members highlighted that the posters served as a stimulus for interactive conversations with patient families during health care visits about potential vaccine uptake. Conclusions This collaboration of pediatric residents through NY PRAC resulted in a poster-driven vaccine campaign that utilized technology to enhance patient education and health literacy and address vaccine hesitancy. The posters facilitated access to COVID-19 vaccine information for hundreds of individuals through >300 unique QR code scans and prompted deeper conversations with patient families, which anecdotally showed the impact that a simple poster can have. This collaboration also demonstrated successful collaborative advocacy efforts among pediatric residents and offers important lessons learned for further physician collaboration and future advocacy.