IAP Actions
- Contact and engage the parents and guardians of under-immunized children
- Educate people about the importance of immunization
- Identify ways to improve vaccine delivery
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 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.
COVID-19 Immunization Action Plan (CAP)
In 2021 the Connecticut Department of Public Health expanded the focus of the Immunization Action Plan (IAP) to raise COVID-19 immunization rates for eligible children and adults. Research shows that high vaccination rates reduce the spread of the disease and that fully vaccinated people usually experience milder symptoms and are much less likely to die. The CAP program operates in the same areas as the IAP program, where local agencies already have experience raising immunization rates. Each CAP site has a CAP coordinator and one or more outreach workers or community health workers.
CAP Actions
- Conduct outreach to the community to increase the number of people who receive the complete vaccination series and booster doses based on CDC recommendations
- Educate people about the importance of COVID-19 vaccination and address vaccine hesitancy
- Use social media and other media to dispel myths and address misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines
CAP Actions
- Increased COVID-19 immunization rates in the towns or communities they serve