NACCHO’s School-Located Vaccination Clinic Toolkit
Vaccines are key in preventing the spread of disease and serious illnesses, protecting populations like young children, individuals with compromised immune systems and other vulnerable populations. Several approaches, including school-located vaccination clinics (SLVC) programs are effective in ensuring adequate vaccination coverage among this expanded population.
School-located vaccination clinics (SLVC) is one approach to increasing community health while promoting routine vaccinations uptake. To best support local health departments (LHDs), schools (K-12 education), and other public health stakeholders, NACCHO has created this School-Located Vaccination Clinic (SLVC) toolkit that is a repository of information and resources to assist in facilitating immunization community outreach in the grade-school settings.
LHDs lead the efforts for organizing and implementing these programs. NACCHO supports these efforts and seeks to continue to engage and learn how to best assist LHDs, and ways to best support programs like these to effect change in local communities.
Visit CDC's Back to School with Routine Vaccines page for more information about national initiatives to increase vaccination coverage rates in schools.
SLVC programs assist communities vaccination uptake by utilizing schools as trusted messengers. Facilitating SLVC allows local health department to tap into the large audience of students, parents and guardians, faculty, administrators, and operational staff. This population of individuals have the common interest of safeguarding children. School in many cases have available space with adequate resource to support efforts to facilitate a clinic. Partnering with schools can have a lasting effect on communities. SLVC allows communities to immunize individuals of all age groups in a short timeframe.
Private medical sectors, as well as public health clinics have limited capacity and often are unable to vaccinate the expanded population as effectively as the SLVC programs. A few advantages of school-located vaccination clinics are:
- Increased number of vaccinated children
- Improved efficiency and cost-saving from a public health perspective
- Increased access to students who are from minority groups, are economically disadvantaged and/or are from families whose primary language is not English
- Reduced absenteeism, for both vaccinated and unvaccinated students
- Reduced absenteeism for staff and teachers
The School-Located Vaccination Clinic Toolkit is a collection of resources that contain information regarding best practices and tools to conduct school-located vaccination (SLVC) clinics. The goal of the toolkit is to promote school-located vaccination clinics, highlight the resource of schools being trusted messenger, and the greater capacity of schools for vaccine confidence and messaging for all stakeholders involved including school administrators, parents, children, and adolescents alike.
The resources included in this toolkit are organized in chapters by topic area: Planning, Relationships & Communications, Educational Materials, Implementation, and Evaluation. These chapters can be used as a part of the toolkit as a whole, or independently as needed. Most of the items listed in the individual chapters contain linked resources and other information to be considered during each of the stages of school-located vaccination clinic planning, implementation, and evaluation.
LHDs can use this dynamic repository to build their own school-located vaccination programs, connect with colleagues, and share what works and what does not. The toolkit does not have all the answers, and as more programs are conducted, we anticipate that it will continue to expand.
This SLVC toolkit is a "living" document that includes background literature, consent forms, letters to parents, and assessment/evaluation tools that are easily adapted to school-located vaccination clinic programs. Additional resources can be added at any time. If you have resources that would benefit the SVLC toolkit, please e-mail [email protected].
This section includes tools, information, and checklists necessary to plan a School-Located Vaccination Clinic including best practices, how to staff, fund, and supply!
Logistics—checklists and general information for successfully planning school-located vaccination clinics
- School-Located Vaccination Clinic (SLVC): Information for Planners and Facilitators (CDC)
- Best Practices Checklist (National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit)
- Immunization Event Planning Checklist (Immunity Community)
- School-Located Vaccine Clinic (SLVC) Planning & Supply Guidelines (Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Viability Issues
Timeline—examples of timelines and checklists for planning SLVC clinics
- School Nurse Six Month Planning Tool
- General Timeline
- Timeline and Responsibilities (Sacramento County, CA)
Staying Informed—helpful resources for aspects to consider when planning your timeline
- Vaccine Schedule for Children 6 Years or Younger (CDC)
- Vaccine Schedule for Children, 7 to 18 Years Old (CDC)
- School Vaccination Requirements and Exemptions (CDC)
- Children's Vaccination Interactive (encompasses the 50 states and territories) (AAP)
- Summary of Recommendations for Child/Teen Immunization (Age Birth Through 18 Years) (Immunize.org)
- State Vaccination Requirements: State Vaccination Requirements (CDC)
Funding and Budgeting—sample budgets and general funding information for SLVC clinics
- Experiences In Billing and Reimbursement for School-Located Influenza Vaccination (2011 National Immunization Conf.)
- Funding the Clinic (see pp. 17-22)
- Immunize Kansas Kids Costs (see pp. 12-18)
- Sample Cost Distribution of SLV Programs
Staffing—how to staff the clinic including utilizing volunteers
- Job Action Sheets (Immunity Community)
- School Flu Clinics Staffing Roster
- Staffing Grid
- Influenza Vaccinations for Healthcare Personnel Policy Statement (NACCHO)
- Letter to Gain Volunteers (Knox County)
- Volunteer Packet (Immunity Community)
Interpretation Services—resources to support communication with diverse language populations
Training—useful information for administering vaccines
- Administering IM and NAS
- Administration of Biological Products (Yukon Immunization Program)
- IAC Skills Checklist for Immunization
- Influenza Immunization Training Course (CDC)
- Vaccine Administration Resource Library
Supplies— how to select, store, and handle vaccines
- Storage and Handling Guidelines for Immunization (CDC)
- 2020 Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit (CDC)
- IAC Checklist for Supplies
- Vaccine Selection
- School Staff - Guidance for Adult Vaccinations
Incident Management and Command—Overview of Incident Management System (IMS)/Incident Command System (ICS) and outlines of the various positions within the system.
Information, letters, and other communications necessary to build important relationships with those connected to school-located immunization clinics, including school staff, parents, and other potential partners.
Partner Overview
Tools for Teachers, Principals, and Students
- 6 Ways Schools Can Promote COVID-19 Vaccines (CDC)
- General Info for Schools (Knox County Health Department 2008)
- How Schools Work and How to Work With Schools (National Association of State Boards of Education)
- Letter to School Principals (East Baton Rouge Parish School System/Health Care Centers in Schools)
- Letter to School Principals (Knox County Health Department)
- Master Cover Letter to Teachers (Sacramento County – Department of Health and Human Services)
- Talking Points for Working with Schools
- Working with Students as Marketers
Tools to Involve and Notify Parents and Parent Groups
- Communication Ideas for Parents
- Form Used to Notify Parent of Non-Vaccination (Knox County Health Department)
- Letter to Parents (Knox County Health Department)
- Parent Packet (Garrett County Health Department)
- Template Letter to Parents/Guardians (CDC)
- Unable to Vaccinate Card template (Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services)
- Unable to Vaccinate Letter template (Anne Arundel County Health Department)
Tools to Involve Providers
Tools to Involve Community Organizations
- Letter to School Groups (Knox County Health Department)
- Talking Points for Community Organizations and Coalitions
Flyers
- Keep Our School Healthy Flyer (California Department of Health)
- Stop Disease Flyer (California Department of Health)
Factsheets, FAQs, and information statements that may be used to educate parents, school groups, students, or other partners.
- SLVC Toolkit (Maine Health and Human Services)
- TK12 Schools COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit (County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health)
- Mobile Vaccination Clinics Open to DC Families (DC Public Charter School)
- Successful Strategies for Vaccination in School Settings (Duke University)
- School Immunization Requirements (video)
(New York Department of Health)
- Education Process
- Key Reasons to Get Vaccinated (CDC)
- Making the Vaccine Decision: Addressing Common Concerns (CDC)
- Top 3 Reasons – English (HHS/CDC)
- Top 3 Reasons – Spanish (HHS/CDC)
- Vaccine Key Facts (CDC)
- Vaccine Information Statement, Inactivated (CDC)
- Vaccine Information Sheet, Inactivated —Spanish (IAC)
- Vaccine Information Statement, Live (CDC)
- Vaccine Information Sheet, Live—Spanish (IAC)
- School-Based Interventions to Increase Student COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage in Public School Populations with Low Coverage — Seattle, Washington, December 2021–June 2022 (CDC)
Information necessary for the day of implementation of school-located vaccination clinic
Logistics
- COVID Vaccine Clinic Letter From Schools To Parents) (Washington State Department of Health)
- Day of Event Checklist (Immunity Community)
- Guidelines for Vaccination Clinic Operations (Massachusetts Department of Public Health)
- After Care For Children and Adolescents What to Do If Your Child Has Discomfort (Immunize.org)
- School Nurse Six Month Planning Tool
Emergency Management
- Medical Management of Vaccine Reaction in Adults (Immunization Action Coalition)
- Medical Management of Vaccine Reaction in Children and Adolescents (Immunization Action Coalition)
- Managing Vaccines Onsite
- Cooler/Freezer Temperature Log and Wasted Vaccine Log (Immunity Community)
- Temperature Log
- See “Supplies” section under the Planning tab for more information on vaccine storage and handling
- Cooler/Freezer Temperature Log and Wasted Vaccine Log (Immunity Community)
- Physician Orders
- Standing Orders for Administering Vaccines to Adults (Immunization Action Coalition)
- Standing Orders for Administering Vaccines to Children and Adolescents (Immunization Action Coalition)
Information needed for steps to take after the completion of school-located vaccination clinic
- After Action Report
- Post Event Checklist
- 2010-2011 H1N1 Final After Action Report (Texas Department of State Health Services)
- 2009 H1N1 After Action Report (Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Sample After Action Report Format (Immunity Community)
- Standard Format for After Action Report Development (CDC/Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program)
- Feedback
- School Feedback Form for LHD (Sacramento County – Department of Health and Human Services)
- Feedback Form for Nurses Participating in School-Located Influenza Immunization Clinics (New Mexico Department of Health)
- Template for Public Feedback and Evaluation Form (Immunity Community)
- Template for Offsite Clinic Staff and Volunteer Evaluation (Immunity Community)
- Documenting Vaccination Rates
- Sample Documentation of Vaccination Results (Knox County Health Department)
- Tracking Costs
- Fact Sheet: Health Insurance for Children: How Schools Can Help (CDC)
- For more information, see “Funding and Budgeting” in the Planning tab of the toolkit
Below are templates and examples of consent forms for SLVC programs:
- Ideas for Increasing Return on Consent Forms
- Kanawa-Charleston Knox County Consent Form
- New Mexico Consent Form
- Sacramento County Consent Form
- Sacramento County Consent Form – Spanish
- School Immunization Clinic Parental Consent Form
- South Dakota Consent Form
- State of Hawaii Consent Form Packet
- State of Hawaii Consent Form Packet— Spanish
- State of Hawaii Consent Form Packet— Chinese
- State of Hawaii Consent Form Packet— Tagalog
- State of Hawaii Consent Form Packet— Korean
- Tooele County Consent Form
- Tooele County Consent Form — Spanish
- 2011 Stop Flu at School Summary Report (Hawaii State Department of Health)
- 2016-2017 School-Based Flu Vaccination Program Report (Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services)
- 2019–2020 Influenza Season Vaccine Label Examples (CDC)
- Feasibility of a School-Based Influenza Vaccination Program in Kansas (Immunize Kansas Kids)
- How to Maintain a Successful Flu Vaccination Program (Medical Economics)
- Immunization Program Manual (Yukon Government Department of Health and Social Services)
- Immunization Manual (British Columbia Centre for Disease Control)
- Influenza Implementation Guidance (American Academy of Pediatrics)
- Mass Vaccination Clinics(Wisconsin Department of Health)
- Pandemic Flu Action Kit (New York State Department of Health)
- Process Evaluation of an Intervention to Increase Provision of Adolescent Vaccines at School Health Centers (Golden et. al. Health Education & Behavior 2014)
- Recommendations for Mass Immunization Events During Pandemic Conditions (DoD/Military Health System)
- Resources for Hosting a Vaccination Clinic (CDC)
- School-located Vaccination Position Statement (National Association of School Nurses)
- ''The Flu Project'' Pilot Presentation Delivered at the 2009 NACCHO Annual Conference (Health Care Centers in Schools)
- Tools to Assist Satellite, Temporary, and Off-Site Vaccination Clinics (National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit)
- Preparing for a School-Located COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic - PMC (nih.gov)
- An Informative Discussion for School Nurses on COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine - PubMed (nih.gov)
- Key Challenges and Opportunities for Implementing School Located Vaccination Clinics for COVID-19 and Influenza: Roundtables With School Nurses and Immunization Programs - PubMed (nih.gov)
- School-located vaccination clinics: best practices for school districts : a guide for school district administrators (cdc.gov)
- Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy Among Students and Families: Interventions for School Nurses - PubMed (nih.gov)
- School-Located Influenza Vaccination: Do Vaccine Clinics at School Raise Vaccination Rates? - PubMed (nih.gov)
- Cost effectiveness of school-located influenza vaccination programs for elementary and secondary school children - PubMed (nih.gov)
Additional Articles
- Effler, P., Chu, C., He, H., Gaynor, K., Sakamoto, S., & Nagao, M. et al. (2010). Statewide School-located Influenza Vaccination Program for Children 5–13 Years of Age, Hawaii, USA. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 16(2), 244-250. doi: 10.3201/eid1602.091375
- Hull, H., & Ambrose, C. (2011). Current experience with school-located influenza vaccination programs in the United States. Human Vaccines, 7(2), 153-160. doi: 10.4161/hv.7.2.13668
- Szilagyi, P., Schaffer, S., Rand, C., Vincelli, P., Eagan, A., & Goldstein, N. et al. (2016). School-Located Influenza Vaccinations: A Randomized Trial. Pediatrics, 138(5), e20161746. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-174
- Toolkit for School-Located Vaccination Clinics (Association of Immunization Managers)
- Toolkit for Schools and School Partners | National Resource Center for Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants (NRC-RIM)
- Keep Flu Out of School E-Toolkit (NASN)
- Flu Prevention Toolkit for Schools and Childcare Centers (County of Los Angeles Public Health)
- Mobile Immunizations Toolkit (Immunity Community)
- Model Practice Awards Database (NACCHO)
- Opioid Overdose Epidemic Toolkit for Local Health Departments (NACCHO)
- Pandemic Model Plan (Adapted from Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department)
- Pandemic Toolkit (Adapted from Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department)
- Stories from the Field Database (NACCHO)
- The Local Health Department Guide for Hosting a Mass Vaccination Clinic (Indiana State Department of Health