Summary

As the Covid-19 pandemic recedes, new opportunities for constructive dialogue about childhood and adolescent vaccines are opening up for communicators who speak up on behalf of widespread immunization and the policies that support it. Public thinking about health, science, and the role of government presents challenges for communicators, but these aren’t insurmountable. FrameWorks’ evidence-based framing strategy pinpointed ways to build understanding of how childhood vaccines work, why we need them, and how public health measures benefit both children and communities.

To counterbalance a conversation characterized by fear, pro-vaccine communicators need ways to frame in terms of community. When working in rural areas, or in states where rural perspectives are a significant influence on policy and politics, it’s important to check that strategies developed in a national setting—or tested with mainly urban and suburban participants—work as intended. This strategic memo builds on our previous work on reframing childhood vaccinations and provides additional guidance for communicating in rural communities across the country.