One important element of National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) is promoting vaccine confidence. Vaccine confidence is defined as the trust that patients, their families, and providers have in recommended vaccines; providers who administer vaccines; and the processes and policies that lead to vaccine development, licensure or authorization, manufacturing, and recommendations for use (CDC).

CDC has developed two toolkits for NIAM: Toolkit for Reaching Healthcare Professionals and Toolkit for Reaching Parents and Patients. These provide key messaging and information on maintaining routine immunizations and on COVID-19 vaccines that LHDs can use to educate on the importance of immunizations.

In addition to the CDC toolkits, NACCHO has developed Increasing Vaccine Confidence: A Resource Guide for Local Health Departments (LHDs). This guide was developed to provide tools and resources that LHDs can utilize to address vaccine confidence at the local level and among various populations. The resources included have been developed by federal, national, and local organizations and include toolkits, videos, fact sheets, model practices, and more.

We hope this guide provides useful tools LHDs can use to increase confidence in vaccines throughout their communities, both during NIAM and as we continue to get back on track with routine vaccines.