Network News — March 3, 2026

Webinar

Coalition News, Top Stories, and Events

Other News, Educational Opportunities, and Events

Resources

In the News

Announcements

Webinar

Virtual: Join us for a coalition webinar hosted by Voices for Vaccines titled “Resilience for Coalitions: Managing Conflict and Preventing Burnout” on March 27 at 12:00 p.m. (ET)

Voices for Vaccines will host a webinar titled Resilience for Coalitions: Managing Conflict and Preventing Burnout at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on March 27. The webinar aims to help coalitions identify the five stages of burnout and grasp the true meaning of self-care. This session focuses on how advocates can maintain their vital work by prioritizing their well-being and emphasizes that these efforts cannot be sustained effectively if individuals are feeling exhausted or worn out.

Register for the webinar.

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Coalition News, Top Stories, and Events

The National Network of Immunization Coalitions highlights the Association of Immunization Managers

The Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) is a nonprofit membership association representing the directors of the 66 federally funded state, territorial, and local public health immunization programs across the United States.

Since 1999, AIM has brought immunization managers together to control vaccine-preventable diseases and improve immunization coverage nationwide. Through national leadership, advocacy, and collaboration, the organization supports immunization programs in developing and implementing effective policies and practices at the state, local, and territorial level.

AIM encourages members to share promising practices with immunization leaders across the country. Its Program Practice Database is a peer-sharing platform that promotes innovative and successful promising practices sourced from immunization programs. Featured program practices address topics such as adult immunization, school entry requirements, vaccine storage and handling, and more.

Immunization program managers have a long history of working with coalitions to achieve common goals such as identifying immunization challenges, prioritizing community needs, building trust, coordinating outreach, implementing strategies, and engaging efforts to bring about system and policy changes. To support this work, AIM conducted research on these partnerships to gather best practices, case studies, and more. Explore AIM’s Immunization Coalition Toolkit, a comprehensive resource that details the structure and scope of current immunization coalitions and provides tools and strategies to build, improve, or support immunization coalitions.

AIM occasionally hosts webinars that are open to the general public. The organization will host a webinar titled Unpacking the 2025 AIM Annual Survey: Trends, Challenges, and What’s Ahead from 12–12:30 p.m. (ET) on April 14. In this data-focused webinar, AIM staff will share key findings from the 2025 AIM Annual Survey. The survey was administered between November 2025 and January 2026, with 95.5% of immunization programs completing the survey. The webinar will offer an inside look at the current programmatic landscape, policy shifts, infrastructure changes, and more.

Register for the webinar.

View AIM’s upcoming opportunities and archived webinars and trainings.

AIM has kicked off the 2026 Immunization Champion Award nomination season. This award recognizes local individuals who demonstrate exemplary service or go above and beyond to promote or foster vaccinations in their communities, for both children and adults. AIM honors up to one Champion from each of the designated immunization jurisdictions, which includes 50 U.S. states, seven cities, the District of Columbia, and eight U.S. territories/freely associated states. Nominations must be sent to the immunization program in the jurisdiction where the nominee resides.

View the nomination form.

Learn about the amazing work of the award winners from 2025.

AIM holds an annual conference, a “can’t miss” opportunity for immunization leaders to connect in person with peers, develop their leadership skills, and celebrate their accomplishments over the past year. While the 2026 conference location has yet to be announced, nonprofit organizations are encouraged to attend and/or exhibit at the event in December.


AIM members at the 2025 Leadership in Action conference.

The organization serves as a voice for immunization programs at the national level. From federal policy advocacy to national media outlets, the needs of members are shared with decisionmakers and the broader public. This past year, AIM’s policy work helped to achieve level funding for Section 317 at a time when many public health programs were experiencing cuts, disruptive pauses, and drastic restructuring.

View AIM’s Annual Reports to learn more about our policy and advocacy efforts.

Learn more about the Association of Immunization Managers at www.immunizationmanagers.org, and please follow and engage with AIM on social media at:

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Today! Virtual: Immunize Wisconsin hosts monthly education webinars; next session on pneumococcal vaccines will be held today, March 26 at 1:00 p.m. (ET).

Immunize Wisconsin (IMWI) connects with thought leaders and experts throughout Wisconsin and beyond to deliver educational webinars designed to help improve vaccine awareness, uptake, and administration. All webinars are free to attend. Registration links and archives of recordings and slide decks are available on the IMWI’s Events web page. Upcoming webinars include:

Register for webinars and view past recordings.

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Other News, Educational Opportunities, and Events

Adolescent Immunization Action Week is April 6–10; Unity Consortium posts toolkit and hosts planning meeting on March 31

Observed April 6–10 this year, Adolescent Immunization Action Week (#AIAW26) urges parents, healthcare providers, and adolescents to start the conversation about the vaccines adolescents need to keep their health on track. Join the Unity Consortium (Unity) in this national movement to spur conversations among healthcare providers, parents, and adolescents to ensure adolescents are up to date on recommended immunizations.

It’s time to finalize your plans and make sure your organization is represented. Join Unity’s final AIAW26 planning meeting from 12:30–1:00 p.m. (ET) on March 31 to learn details and the exciting array of events.

Register for the meeting.

Also check out Unity’s Partner Toolkit that includes ready-to-use graphics, social media templates, videos, sample newsletters, posters, and flyers to support this goal. Most resources are available in English and Spanish and can be customized and co-branded to meet your needs.

Among these resources is a video public service announcement (PSA) conveying that, while parenting teens can be complicated, supporting their health need not be. You can watch, download, and share the PSA video via the linked graphic below.

Visit Unity’s AIAW campaign page for social media-ready materials to draw attention to improving coverage. Use the hashtag #AIAW26 to spread the word.

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Virtual: Unity Consortium hosts webinar moderated by Dr. Chelsea Clinton, “Who Influences Young People’s Health Choices? The New Conversation About Vaccines” on April 8 at 12:00 p.m. (ET)

The Unity Consortium (Unity) will host a webinar titled Who Influences Young People’s Health Choices? The New Conversation About Vaccines at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on April 8. During Adolescent Immunization Action Week (April 6–10), Unity and the Clinton Foundation are collaborating for an important and timely dialogue about the responsibility we all share in the future of adolescent health and immunization. Parents of adolescents and young adults, vaccinators from all sectors of healthcare delivery, educators, communicators, and advocates are invited to this 1-hour live webinar event to help foster an environment where immunization is a collaborative, positive choice for the health and well-being of young people.

The webinar will be moderated by Chelsea Clinton, DPhil, MPH, vice chair, Clinton Foundation, and panelists will include Elisabeth Marnik, PhD, executive director, The Evidence Collective; Margot Savoy, MD, MPH, chief medical officer, American Academy of Family Physicians; and Jessica Steier, DrPH, PMP, founder and CEO, Unbiased Science and executive director, The Science Literacy Lab.

Register for the webinar.

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Global Healthy Living Foundation finds influenza cost the U.S. economy nearly $29 billion in the 2023–24 season

A study funded by the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition (AVAC) and conducted by the Global Healthy Living Foundation (GHLF) found that influenza cost the U.S. economy nearly $29 billion during the 2023–24 flu season. This includes approximately $16 billion in healthcare costs and $13 billion in lost worker productivity. The study found that higher adult vaccination rates could have saved more than 8,000 lives and avoided $3 billion in healthcare spending in that season alone.

The findings underscore the public health and economic case for improving adult flu vaccination rates.

View study details and resources.

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Virtual: Register for Immunize​.org Website Office Hours. Join a 30-minute discussion about our About Us, Publication Archives, and Vaccine Timeline web content on April 8 at 4:00 p.m. (ET) or April 9 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). Recorded sessions archived.

To learn simple tips and tricks for using Immunize​.org websites efficiently, please register for Immunize​.org’s next set of Website Office Hours on Wednesday, April 8, at 4:00 p.m. (ET) or Thursday, April 9, at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The same content will be covered in both sessions.

Immunize​.org will open each 30-minute session with a short, live demonstration on navigating the About Us, Publication Archives, and Vaccine Timeline website sections. You can submit questions when you register or live on Zoom during the session.

Register today for Immunize​.org Website Office Hours (content is the same for both):

The archive of previous Website Office Hours content is posted at Immunize​.org’s “Webinars & Videos” page.

Mark your calendar for future Immunize​.org Website Office Hours.

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The Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) is hosting a webinar titled Unpacking the 2025 AIM Annual Survey: Trends, Challenges, and What’s Ahead at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on April 14. During the webinar, AIM will share key findings from the 2025 AIM Annual Survey. With 96% of state, local, and territorial immunization programs participating in the 2025 AIM Annual survey, this webinar will offer insight into the current national programmatic landscape related to adult, Vaccines for Children (VFC), Immunization Information Systems (IIS), and HPV activities; state and Section 317 funding contributions; coverage improvement strategies; and roles of state advisory boards. Webinar attendees will get early access to survey insights before the full report release, gain a better understanding of the current immunization program landscape, and discover opportunities to collaborate with immunization programs based on shared needs and strategies.

This webinar is open to all partners, and AIM would greatly appreciate your support in promoting the webinar to a wider audience!

Register for the webinar.

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In-Person: Register for the 2026 National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit meeting on May 19–21 in Atlanta (open to NAIIS members only)

The National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit (NAIIS) has opened registration for its 2026 National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit in-person meeting to be held May 19–21 at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia in Atlanta, Georgia. This year’s theme is “Adult Vaccination: Confronting Emerging Barriers and Risks.”

The NAIIS has reserved a block of rooms at an excellent rate for this year’s meeting. Following registration, you will have the opportunity to book a hotel at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia. The discounted rate will expire on April 24 and is consistent with the United States government per diem rate.

This meeting is an invitation-only event for NAIIS members and invited speakers. While registration is free, registration will be closed once the meeting registration reaches maximum capacity.

Register for the meeting. The meeting registration password is required. If you are a NAIIS member and do not have it, please contact kayla.ohlde@immunize.org.

View the draft agenda.

The Summit’s Immunization Excellence Awards will be presented at the awards luncheon on May 20. Nominations for the Excellence Awards closed on February 6.

Abstract submission for the poster session closed on March 20.

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Resources

Voices for Vaccines shares videos that model supportive, evidence-based conversations using the 4-A method

Voices for Vaccines (VFV) has released a playlist of short, realistic videos that model supportive, evidence-based vaccine conversations. The scenarios reflect everyday moments that many advocates and healthcare providers encounter: a parent with questions about the HPV vaccine, a friend sharing a viral rumor, a community member feeling uncertain after seeing something online.

Each video uses the 4-A Method: Ask. Acknowledge. Affirm. Answer. This is a framework that builds trust and that keeps conversations constructive by prioritizing listening and understanding before offering clear, permission-based information. Topics covered in the playlist include MMR and autism fears, placebo trial myths, thimerosal rumors, “sanitation, not vaccines” claims, and chickenpox and shingles misinformation, among others.

Watch the full playlist on YouTube.

Related Links

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Vaccinate Your Family shares several resources

Vaccinate Your Family (VYF) has several new resources and opportunities for action that may be of interest to coalition members and advocates.

VYF offers a series of free online mini-courses designed to build public health confidence through fact-based vaccine education. The courses are available to everyone and are also designed to serve as a resource for healthcare providers. The newest addition to the series is Stop the Spread: What Everyone Should Know About Hepatitis B, a course designed to empower learners with practical knowledge about hepatitis B transmission and prevention.

All courses are free and self-paced. Visit VYF University to learn more and see additional mini-courses available.

On March 16, VYF launched its #PublicHealthIsPersonal social media campaign. The campaign highlights the personal and community impact of vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases, and takes a deliberate approach to meeting audiences where they are, opening conversations on the common ground of personal experience before offering evidence-based vaccine information.

VYF plans to continue using the hashtag throughout 2026. Coalition members are encouraged to share VYF content featuring #PublicHealthIsPersonal and to incorporate the hashtag into their own social media activity.

Additionally, Vaccinate Your Family is calling on vaccine advocates to contact Congress in support of increased funding for the Section 317 Immunization Program. As Congress considers the Fiscal Year 2027 budget for the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC, VYF urges advocates to push for $782 million in Section 317 funding for FY2027.

Section 317 supports essential public health immunization programs across the country and has been chronically underfunded. VYF launched its 317 Action Alert on March 17 to mobilize advocates during this critical budget period.

Learn more about Section 317 funding and Vaccinate Your Family’s FY2027 ask.

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CHOP’s Vaccine Education Center shares new Primary Care Perspectives podcast episode and Parents PACK “Love Your Immune System” trivia questions

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) Vaccine Education Center (VEC) recently teamed up with primary care pediatrician Katie Lockwood, MD, for episode 211 of the Primary Care Perspectives podcast, Communicating About Vaccines. In the 35-minute episode, Dr. Lockwood and VEC experts discuss situations and experiences from the frontlines of patient care, offering thoughts and tips for having vaccine conversations. The episode is available on Podbean or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Listen to the episode.

This podcast comes alongside VEC’s February 2026 Parents PACK newsletter, featured an immune system trivia series as part of a Love Your Immune System theme. Understanding how the immune system works can help inoculate people against vaccine safety concerns related to overwhelming the immune system or as a cause of other conditions. Likewise, in some settings, opportunities to talk about vaccines may be limited, but talking about the immune system can help engage people without causing the same emotional response.

With this in mind, here are some ideas for using the “Love Your Immune System” trivia:

  • Use as an icebreaker at a coalition meeting
  • Break the monotony at a staff meeting
  • Quiz students or patients to help them learn about the immune system
  • Engage the public at events

The PDF can be photocopied for easy sharing, and the online article includes links to the pages where the answers can be found in VEC information about the immune system.

Parents PACK offers you free, accurate, fresh content every month. Subscribe to Parents PACK.

View the Parents PACK newsletter website for the current issue and the archive of past issues.

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Common Health Coalition shares report on cost of declining rates of MMR vaccination coverage and new model bill for provider liability protection

On February 26, Common Health Coalition (CHC) published More Illness, Greater Cost: Spotlight Brief; Childhood Immunizations. This new analysis from CHC and researchers at the Yale School of Public Health highlights the community consequences of the declining childhood MMR vaccination rates in the United States. Using measles as a case study, the report finds that:

  • As little as a 1% annual decline in MMR coverage could result in more than 17,000 measles cases, 4,000 hospitalizations, and 36 preventable deaths annually in the United States by 2030
  • Annual national costs could reach $1.5 billion, accumulating to $7.8 billion over 5 years
  • Public health entities and healthcare systems would bear most of these costs, including $947 million annually in outbreak response and $41 million in direct medical costs
  • Federal policy changes, reduced public health infrastructure funding, and growing vaccine hesitancy contribute to the decline in MMR vaccination coverage

These findings underscore how crucial sustained investment in immunization infrastructure and cross-sector collaboration are to protecting children and maintaining health system stability.

View the CHC press release: Declining Measles Vaccination Rates Predicted to Cost the United States ~$7.8 Billion by 2030, Finds Study from the Common Health Coalition and Yale School of Public Health (2/26/26).

View the brief.

Additionally, CHC created a Model State Provider Liability Protection Bill, intended to provide state-level policymakers with a flexible, modular framework to safeguard vaccine access and healthcare providers if federal vaccine liability protections are narrowed or unavailable. Changes in federal recommendations can leave providers exposed to uncertainty and patients with fewer clear pathways for compensation. This model legislation includes provisions that allow states to:

  • Protect healthcare providers who administer vaccines or immunizing agents consistent with recognized medical guidelines
  • Preserve patient access to immunization services
  • Provide fair, predictable compensation pathways for vaccine-related injuries not covered by federal programs
  • Avoid unnecessary expansion of state liability or bureaucracy

View more on the Model State Provider Liability Protection Bill.

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The International Vaccine Access Center releases state-level immunization monitoring briefs and national synthesis briefs

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) has developed a series of state-level immunization monitoring briefs and web pages displaying tailored information on the extent to which children are protected against vaccine-preventable diseases across the United States. The aim of this activity is to build and sustain policy commitment for the value of childhood vaccination at the state level. These resources focus on nonseasonal vaccines recommended to all children in the United States, with briefs developed for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. These analyses are informing local news coverage in jurisdictions including Florida and Louisiana.

New national synthesis briefs are now available, providing an overview of trends in proposed legislation and nonmedical exemptions (NMEs) to childhood vaccination requirements across the U.S.

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FDA launches dashboard called Adverse Event Monitoring System (AEMS) to display data from multiple reporting systems, including vaccine adverse events

On March 11, FDA launched its Adverse Event Monitoring System (AEMS), a single platform for displaying data on adverse events reported to the FDA for a wide array of products, including vaccines, drugs, biologics, cosmetics, and animal foods. Ultimately, FDA intends to consolidate adverse event reporting for all FDA-regulated products in this single system.

FDA announced that the AEMS platform will replace the current Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) process for reporting. In the meantime, VAERS remains active and should continue to be used to report adverse events after vaccination until a new system is announced.

FDA’s announcement states that AEMS will eventually display adverse event reports on its dashboard as they are reported (“in real time”), rather than the current practice of updating searchable databases quarterly.

These data are susceptible to misuse and misinterpretation. VAERS (and AEMS) contain duplicate reports. These reports are unverified. VAERS and AEMS reports and statistics do not constitute evidence of cause-and-effect relationships between products and adverse events. One cannot calculate rates of adverse events from these unverified adverse event reports. These systems are valuable because patterns or individual reports can signal important questions about relationships that can be evaluated and answered through other safety systems and studies.

IZ Express will share information as more is known about AEMS and updates to vaccine adverse event reporting procedures as they become available.

Related Links

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In the News

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Announcements

Announcements from the National Network of Immunization Coalitions

The National Network of Immunization Coalitions reminds you of the important ways every coalition can plug into the power of our network:

  • Bookmark National Network of Immunization Coalitions’ Calendar of Events on its website, immunizationcoalitions.org, to learn about upcoming national, regional, state, and local conferences; workshops; and virtual educational opportunities.
  • Subscribe to IZ Express, the free weekly e-newsletter produced by Immunize.org, for immunization-related news, new and updated recommendations, educational materials, and educational opportunities.
  • Please visit the National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit (NAIIS, the “Summit”) at www.izsummitpartners.org to check out the latest resources on operationalizing, and payment for, adult and influenza vaccines. If you are not a Summit partner, please sign on at: www.izsummitpartners.org/join-the-summit.
  • Urge your coalition members to sign up for IZ Coalitions Network News, the monthly e-newsletter for the National Network of Immunization Coalitions that features news of interest to immunization coalitions and nonprofit organizations. To subscribe, send a request to info@immunizationcoalitions.org and ask to be included.
  • Be sure that your coalition is listed and information is up to date on the National Network of Immunization Coalitions website. To add your coalition or make updates, please email info@immunizationcoalitions.org.
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