There has been a recent increase in deadly, preventable diseases. Measles was eliminated in 2000, but in the last year the number of measles cases is comparable to rates seen in 1992. These numbers are the result of vaccine misinformation; This year, the World Health Organization (WHO) acknowledged vaccine hesitancy as one of the top ten largest threats to global health (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019).

The Vaccine Awareness Campaign to Champion Immunization Nationally and Enhance Safety (VACCINES) Act of 2019, is a bipartisan bill aimed at increasing federal resources in the fight against current and future disease outbreaks.

Enactment of this bill would strengthen support for vaccine research, expand efforts in public awareness, and increase vaccination rates, decreasing rates of illness and death. The VACCINES Act is supported not only across the aisle, but also by reputable organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control, and over 220 other medical, public health, and education organizations (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019).

Occupational therapists (OT) have a unique opportunity to combat vaccine misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. Research on vaccine hesitancy has shown that clients that receive vaccine recommendations from a trusted health care provider are overwhelmingly more likely to be vaccinated (Rosenthal et al., 2011).

When a health care provider (say, your trusty OT) engages in an honest dialogue with their client about vaccinations, those intentional conversations are more likely to lead to vaccination than any other intervention including scientific evidence, graphic images, dramatic narratives or control through policies (Nyhan, Reifler, Richey, & Freed, 2014). When occupational therapists have an straight-forward and honest conversation with their clients, those clients are more likely to be vaccinated and stop the spread of previously eliminated diseases.