Immunize Kansas Coalition Hosts Vaccine Fears Overturned by Facts Webinar Series

April 12, 2023

Immunize Kansas Coalition (IKC) hosted two Vaccine Fears Overturned by Facts webinars in March. The first webinar, on March 22nd, was tailored to health providers and health educators; the second on March 29th was tailored to parents and families. These two webinars were designed to address vaccine fears and hesitancy with returning featured guests, Heather Simpson and Lydia Greene, creators of Back to the Vax and co-authors of the just launched IKC booklet, Vaccine Fears Overturned by Facts. During both webinars, Heather and Lydia brought a unique perspective by highlighting their personal stories, notable “tropes” they once encountered as formerly anti-vaccine mothers and shared how to effectively communicate with both patients and providers about concerns surrounding vaccines. Visit the webinar event webpage for slides and recordings.

The events were promoted on IKC’s Vaccine Fears Overturned by Facts event webpage, through emails to IKC Listservs and immunization partners, social media posts and ads, and at conferences. These promotional efforts allowed them to gain a total reach of 148,884 across the state of Kansas.

Beyond engaging over 150 individuals through the live webinars, these efforts provided a platform to introduce their new booklet, Vaccine Fears Overturned by Facts, created in collaboration with Heather and Lydia of Back to the Vax. The booklet is intended to be a factual rebuttal with personal stories to address 23 common vaccine myths once believed when they were in the anti-vaccine community. This resource is available in English and Spanish. The responses regarding the webinars and booklet have been extremely positive, highlighting the need for a unique resource like this. During the webinar, participants emphasized their appreciation and excitement regarding the new resource by saying “This booklet is the most amazing vaccine resource I’ve seen in a long time!” and “I appreciate your valuable perspective and willingness to share!”. Many others were interested in sharing recordings of the webinars with providers or vaccine-hesitant friends in their communities. Additionally, IKC hand delivered the booklet to each Kansas state lawmaker’s office, being a timely resource during the legislative session. During a lively debate on an anti-public health and anti-vaccine bill at the Capitol, Kansas Senator O’Shea shared the importance of childhood immunizations and referenced our Vaccine Fears Overturned by Factsbooklet; being a voice to keeping current vaccine protections. IKC anticipates a continued impact and reach of the Vaccine Fears Overturned by Facts webinar recordings and booklet. Stay tuned as IKC will post additional promotional resources about the booklet on the Vaccine Fears Overturned by Facts webpage for you to share with your networks.