ACCP Call to Action—The Need for Vaccine Education

Abstract

The American College of Clinical Pharmacology (ACCP) affirms that vaccine education is essential to safeguarding global health and trust in scientific and medical institutions conducting vaccine programs. Grounded in evidence-based science, transparency, and cultural awareness, effective vaccine education must address misinformation directly while communicating both the benefits and risks of vaccination in an open and accessible manner. The ACCP is recommending a “call to action” in which its members and the broader community of medical research and healthcare professionals and their institutions, work in thoughtful collaboration to promote balanced, scientifically rigorous vaccine education to provide informed decision-making, increase public awareness, and ensure equitable access to these life-saving preventive care treatments.

The mission of the ACCP is to improve global health by advancing the frontiers of clinical pharmacology. The College follows this guiding principle through its role as an educational institution, not only for its members, but all healthcare professionals and to the communities we serve. As such, when a course of events occurs that creates uncertainty or erodes confidence in established scientific norms, as currently observed in the decreased use of vaccinations, the College has a responsibility to address these issues and educate both its members and the broader community to ensure they are well informed of the scientific and medical facts and are empowered to make decisions based on rigorous evidence rather than fear, pseudoscience, misinformation, or doubt.

Combating fear, pseudoscience, misinformation, and doubt can be a substantial challenge, particularly when false claims regarding vaccine pharmacology, safety, and efficacy, can spread faster via social media than the scientific evidence can be communicated. The rapid and widespread acceptance of false assumptions eventually erodes the trust in our scientific and medical institutions, which can ultimately lead to dangerous outcomes. In this instance, these dangerous outcomes include vaccine hesitancy, refusal, and federal policy changes which can compromise the immunity of our communities and increase the risk for severe outbreaks.

Providing impactful education in this scenario requires both transparency and actively addressing any doubts and fears the recipient may have. An approach in which scientific evidence is the foundation of communication and openly addressing misinformation can lessen these fears and slowly reestablish public trust. Additionally, this type of education must include open and transparent communication about vaccines that were withdrawn, when adverse effects lead to changes in treatment guidelines, or differences in vaccine policies in other peer countries. While rare, vaccine withdrawals do occur, many times due to issues identified during post-marketing surveillance programs, that were not apparent during the conduct of clinical trials. When this is communicated clearly, by explaining the new evidence that was found, how decisions were made, and what steps are being taken to protect the public, it helps reinforce the message that vaccine safety monitoring is ongoing and rigorous. This is a critical opportunity to reinforce trust through honesty and accountability.

Regardless of the educational or professional background of the individuals being informed, vaccine education will require those that take on this role to do so with cultural humility, respectful dialogue, and establishing an open platform for communication. Importantly, this platform should allow for dialogue around both the potential risks and benefits of vaccines that is tailored to address the diversity of the audience. The different cultural, socioeconomic, and educational backgrounds need to be considered when deciding both the content and modality of communication (e.g., traditional journal, newspaper, or website platforms vs social media, podcasts, or influencer-led based platforms).

Contributions of the professionals associated with the ACCP can play an important role in the success of this type of education. Their roles are pivotal in generating the scientific data on which vaccine recommendations are based, provide vaccines as part of medical care, or guide treatment protocols and algorithms. For example, pharmacists, who are often the most accessible healthcare professionals in many communities, contribute to vaccine education by answering questions, debunking myths, and administering vaccines. Their trustworthiness and frequent interaction with the public make them key partners in reinforcing vaccine education. Physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, and allied health professionals also have a unique opportunity to educate during patient encounters by providing personalized vaccine counsel, addressing fears and doubts, and discussing both the risks and benefits of treatment. Public health officials can contribute by coordinating broader education campaigns, developing policy, and disseminating critical information during public health emergencies. Importantly, when these professionals collaborate, are aligned, and present a unified message, it may enhance the credibility and impact of vaccine education.

The ACCP affirms that vaccine education is critical to protecting global health and rebuilding confidence in scientific and medical institutions that are conducting vaccine programs. Those scientific, medical or public-health professionals and their institutions, who choose to contribute to this much needed effort, should do so highlighting the medical safeguards typically in place for vaccine development, the adaptability of science, and the priority placed on public welfare. In doing so, public trust can continue to be built by recognizing the integrity and self-correcting nature of scientific research and medicine. Vaccine education, when grounded in this type of transparency, balanced scientific approach, cultural competence, professional collaboration, and adaptive modern communication strategies can address misinformation, pseudoscience, and public fears, thus ultimately ensuring equitable access to vaccines that can save lives.

Kenneth Todd Moore is an employee and stockholder of Johnson & Johnson. Sindura Gollamudi is an employee and stockholder of Eikon Therapeutics. Aman Gupta is an employee of Detroit Mercy. Amir S. Youssef is an employee and stockholder of GSK.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors on behalf of the American College of Clinical Pharmacology and should not be interpreted as the position of the entities or institutions at which the authors are employed.

No funding was received for this Position Paper.

Kenneth Todd Moore, DBE, MS, FAHA, FCP (Committee Chair); Sagar Sudhakar Bachhav, PhD; Sihem Bihorel, MS, PharmD, PhD; Peter L. Bonate, PhD; Janelle Burnham, MD; Ayyappa Chaturvedula, PhD, FCP; Mohamed Elmeliegy, PhD; Michael B. Fania, PharmD, MD, MBA; Sindura Gollamudi, MSc; Amandeep K. Gupta, MBBS, MD, Dip SEM; Matthew Hruska, PharmD, PhD; Kajal Larson, PhD; Yi Ting (Kayla) Lien, PhD; Suresh Mallikaarjun, PhD, FCP; Dhananjay Marathe, PhD; Michael Nnamdi Nome, PharmD; Sonia Pahwa, PhD; Sudhakar M. Pai, PhD; Alexander J. Prokopienko, PharmD, PhD; Yuli Qian, PhD; Ammar Raza, MBBS, MBA, FCP, PCTM, D.Diab, PGD E&D, FFPM (RCP, UK); Samuel Roiko, PhD; Jinshan Shen, PhD; Suneet Shukla, PhD; Mahipal Gurram Sinnollareddy, PhD; Peter H. Wiernik, MD; Xinning Yang, PhD; Yichao Yu, PhD; Amir S. Yousef, PhD