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Immunize Kansas Coalition Shares Unique Perspectives to Engaging with University Students during the Vaccine with Confidence Campaign

May 12, 2023

To bring vaccine confidence to university students, Immunize Kansas Coalition (IKC) partnered with Kansas State Research and Extension (KSRE), and Kansas State University’s Office of Engagement to create the Vaccinate with Confidence Campaign. The campaign was built to reach university students across the K-State campus, leading to additional conversations with family and community members about the importance of vaccination.

The outreach efforts on campus consisted of teaching students about engaging in vaccine conversations with a vaccine education module in select classrooms, fliers at campus resident halls, features on the student radio station, weekly tabling events at popular campus locations, and equipping social media influencers from students themselves. To wrap up the campaign and school year, they held the final Vaccine Fears Overturned by Facts webinar, University Perspectives with K-State on April 28th. The webinar featured guest speakers from the perspectives of faculty involvement, nonprofit health education, student interns, and the trusted role veterinarians have in sharing about vaccinations. Student intern, Johnna Tumberger, shared about her role in gauging students’ perspectives towards vaccination with the #WhyIVax boards at tabling events around campus. The reasons for vaccination ranged from “I vaccinate to do my part for the community” to “I vaccinate because I don't let fear overcome reason.” View additional quotes on IKC’s Webpage. Dr. Ron Orchard, MPH, DVM, CAWA, RVT, also shared an interesting viewpoint on building vaccine confidence through veterinarian visits. On becoming a trusted resource for some of the most vulnerable populations, Ron shared, “Change occurs at the pace of trust.” The One Health Approach builds a trusted relationship between an animal owner and a veterinarian, where they then bring them connections to health resources, including human vaccination. The Vaccinate with Confidence Campaign has allowed IKC to build greater partnerships on the university level. These efforts reached over 145 students, faculty, and partners with direct engagement and 35,212 through social media and online newsletters; sharing how vaccines protect themselves, their loved ones, and their communities.

Visit the webinar event page for the slides and recording.