Immunization Action Plan

Healthcare worker giving vaccine shot to young boy in his arm.

Immunization Action Plan

Connecticut’s IAP helps raise vaccination rates for children in our state. It operates in areas with the highest risk of low immunization rates and focuses on pre-school children who may not have received the vaccinations required to start school. Each IAP site has a program coordinator and most have one or more outreach workers. They work closely with local health departments, public and private immunization providers, hospitals, WIC offices, Head Start programs, schools and pre-schools, and other maternal and child health organizations that serve young children. By collaborating with these groups, the local IAP can assess the needs of the community, make and receive referrals for at-risk children, and share the latest immunization advice with parents and guardians.

IAP Contacts and Map

IAP Actions

Contact and engage the parents and guardians of under-immunized children
Educate people about the importance of immunization and address vaccine hesitancy
Conduct outreach to the community to increase the number of people who receive complete vaccination series based on CDC recommendations
Identify ways to improve vaccine delivery
Use social media and other media to dispel myths and address misinformation about vaccines

IAP Success Measures

Increased immunization rates in the towns or communities they serve
Successfully link at-risk children to a “medical home” so they receive vaccinations and their immunization is tracked

The IAP was prompted by a 1989-1991 measles outbreak in the U.S. When the federal government investigated the outbreak, they found that too many children weren’t fully protected against vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles. The government then began funding all states to help them build programs that raise and maintain high immunization rates. Connecticut’s IAP was launched in 1993.

In 2021 the Connecticut Department of Public Health expanded the Immunization Action Plan (IAP) to create a COVID-19 Immunization Action Plan (CAP) to raise COVID-19 immunization rates for eligible children and adults. The CAP program has since ended, but the work to increase COVID-19 immunization rates continue through the IAP Program.