Vaccines Defend What Matters (formerly Be Wise Immunize)

Get Involved: Vaccines Defend What Matters

 

Vaccines Defend What Matters (formerly Be Wise – Immunize) is TMA’s integrated, multimedia public health education and advocacy effort to overcome vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccination rates in Texas.

Defend What Matters Information  

Fund Your Vaccination Activities

 

As part of this effort, TMA Foundation (TMAF) offers grants of up to $3,500 to fund vaccination activities, educational resources, and community outreach events. County medical societies, TMA Alliance chapters, medical student chapters, and TMA member-physician practices/clinics can apply.

Apply for a Grant  

New Poster Offers Flu Shot Facts

 

With COVID-19 here and flu season starting, TMA has created a downloadable poster to help physicians stress the importance of flu vaccination – this year more than ever. The poster is available in English and Spanish.

Get the Poster  

Encourage Flu Vaccinations with Prewritten Letters to the Editor

 

Flu season is upon us, and physicians can help lessen the burden of flu and COVID-19 by encouraging their communities to get vaccinated to prevent influenza.

Find Out How You Can Help  

Vaccination Resources

To find out where to get vaccinations in your community, call 2-1-1. This hotline has up-to-date information about where you can get specific vaccinations, such as meningococcal.

• Disease and Vaccines in Texas (Texas Public Health Coalition)
• Immunization Schedules
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• The Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research (Texas Children's Hospital)
• Vaccine-Preventable Disease: The Forgotten Story (Texas Children's Hospital)
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
• National Immunization Surveys
• Immunization Action Coalition (vaccine information for health care professionals)

• Best Shot Videos by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (pneumococcal, shingles, and whooping cough)

• National Foundation for Infectious Diseases

• The History of Vaccines (The College of Physicians of Philadelphia)

• TMF-QIN Resource Center
• Vaccination Provider Tools

• Guidance on Maintaining Childhood Immunizations During COVID-19 Pandemic (CDC)

• Vaccination Guidance During a Pandemic (CDC)

• Guidance for Planning Vaccination Clinics Held at Satellite, Temporary, or Off-Site Locations (CDC recommendations for routine or emergency vaccinations)

• Texas Vaccine Liability
• Texas Vaccines for Children Program
• Adult Safety Net Program
• Common Parental Concerns (AAP)
• Resources for Vaccine Conversations With Parents (CDC)

• Clear Answers and Smart Advice About Your Baby’s Shots (Ari Brown, MD, Austin)

• HPV
• TMA’s HPV Resource Center
• Don't Let HPV Go Viral (TMA)
• Help Your Kids Prevent Cancer (MD Anderson Cancer Center)
• HPV Vaccine Video for Health Care Providers (Minnesota Department of Health)
  (A 12-minute video on HPV vaccine communication for health care providers. The video presents four model clinical encounters in which providers demonstrate low-stress ways of recommending HPV vaccine and answering questions from patients and parents.)
• HPV Resource Kit (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center)
• HPV Champion Toolkit (AAP)
• National HPV Vaccination Roundtable
• Texas Cancer Information
• Flu
• Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition

• Influenza (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

• TexasFlu.org (Texas-specific website by DSHS)
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