March 2026

For two decades, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has stood as one of the most impactful tools in cancer prevention—protecting individuals and strengthening communities across Illinois and beyond. As we mark 20 years since its development, we reflect on the remarkable progress made in reducing HPV-related cancers, while recognizing the continued work ahead to ensure equitable access and uptake for all.

The Immunize Illinois Coalition remains committed to advancing education, access, and confidence in vaccination. In this issue, we celebrate milestones, share updates from partners across the state, and highlight opportunities to build on this momentum. Together, we can continue protecting future generations and moving closer to a future without HPV-related cancers.

Illinois Public Health Association’s Learning Management System (LMS) IPHA Academy has officially launched! IPHA Academy shares a library of public health training courses, webinars, and other learning resources, including Vaccine Education. If you missed the Immunization 101 webinar from Immunize Illinois Coalition Advisory Committee member, Gloria Berrara, the recording is housed on the Vaccine Education portal.  To set up a free account, go to ipha.thinkingcap.com and click “register”.

Find trainings, webinars, and important dates related to vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases.

• March 27, 2026  |  Help.Guide.Thrive and Immunize Illinois Coalition are partnering to offer a three-part webinar series on practical communication skills for talking with families about vaccines and useful strategies to support and advocate for stronger immunization efforts within communities. This is the second webinar in the series. Register for the series here.
• June 5, 2026  |  Conquering HPV: It Takes a Village Symposium 2026, is a multidisciplinary, full‑day educational event dedicated to understanding, preventing, and managing HPV‑related disease across the lifespan. Designed for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and other healthcare professionals, the symposium brings together leading experts in pediatrics, infectious diseases, oncology, dentistry, otolaryngology, and public health to address the clinical, scientific, and societal challenges associated with HPV. This conference is being held in-person and virtually and offers continuing education credits for nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy techs, physicians, and dentists!  Additional information and details to register can be found here.
• April 6-10, 2026  |  Adolescent Immunization Action Week; Unity Consortium posts toolkit to help you prepare. Observed April 6–10 this year, Adolescent Immunization Action Week (#AIAW26) urges parents, healthcare providers, and adolescents to start the conversation about the vaccines adolescents need to keep their health on track. Unity’s Partner Toolkit includes ready-to-use graphics, social media templates, sample newsletters, posters, and flyers to support this goal. Resources can be customized and co-branded to meet your needs. Among these resources is a video public service announcement (PSA) conveying that, while parenting teens can be complicated, supporting their health need not be. You can watch, download, and share the PSA video which can be viewed here. Visit Unity’s AIAW campaign page for social media-ready materials to draw attention to improving coverage. Use the hashtag #AIAW26 to spread the word.
• May 20, 2026  |  Guidance and Updates on Summer Travel Immunizations from Illinois Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics (ICAAP). This webinar will summarize current risks of disease associated with travel, review routine immunizations needed for travel and help identify travel precautions. Register here.

Join the 2026 Rural Learning Community! The American Cancer Society (ACS) and ACS National HPV Vaccination Roundtable are launching the 2026 Rural Learning Community, a free, live CME/CNE‑accredited virtual series designed to help rural healthcare teams strengthen HPV vaccination efforts and reduce HPV‑related cancers.

• Participants will gain practical strategies to boost on‑time vaccination, address hesitancy, communicate with families, and navigate today’s adolescent vaccine landscape. Sessions feature real‑world rural approaches, plus key updates in cervical and colorectal cancer screening to support prevention across the lifespan.
• Sessions run the second Wednesday of each month, March–November 1-2pm CST. Topics include updated HPV guidance, trust‑building communication, evidence-based interventions, culturally responsive care, and effective rural partnerships.

Join anytime—registration is rolling.

For questions, contact Ashley.Lach@cancer.org

Debunking Vaccine Myths. Voices for Vaccines  has created videos based on their 4-A Method for addressing vaccine concerns. Check out the videos on Voices for Vaccines YouTube channel. These are great resources to share with the community through social media or on your agency website!

Laminated VIS QR code tables deliver CDC Vaccine Information Sheets (VIS) directly to your patients’ smartphone (Spanish translation version also available). Now shipping! The Immunize​.org team now offers durable, laminated tables of QR codes linking to VISs for vaccines given to children and adults. VISs explain both risks and benefits of vaccination. Federal law requires you to document provision of CDC’s current VIS before administering any vaccine covered by the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. CDC recommends VISs accompany other vaccines, too. An easy, paperless way to comply with the law is for patients to scan a QR code and access the VIS from a smartphone or tablet.  CDC produces official VISs only in English. CDC does not produce or certify available translations, so the official CDC VIS should accompany any translation. Visit the Shop Immunize.org: Laminated VIS QR Code Tables web page to view images and order today! For additional information, call 651-647-9009 or email admininfo@immunize.org. 

More Illness, Greater Cost. Common Health Coalition’s report More Illness, Greater Cost: The consequences of public health cuts for the health care system demonstrates how declines in childhood vaccination will carry substantial human and economic consequences, using measles as a case study. This modeling analysis, conducted by the Yale School of Public Health, finds that a sustained 1% annual decline in measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine coverage could lead to more than 17,000 measles cases, 4,000 hospitalizations, and 36 preventable deaths each year, while adding billions in avoidable costs across the United States health system and economy by 2030. Over the next five years, declining measles vaccination rates could cost $1.5 billion annually and add approximately $7.8 billion in cumulative costs (a range of $5.6 billion to $11.6 billion). Outbreak response

Vaccine Questions Answered. Boost Oregon has created several videos using clear, science-backed answers in plain language that can be shared with patients, families, and community members. Topics include “Why is there Aluminum in Vaccines?”, “Are Vaccines Safe”, and “Who Profits from Vaccines?” The videos can be found here and are available in more than eight languages!

VaxImpactMap: Quantifying the Health and Economic Costs of Declining Childhood Vaccination from Emory University Rollins School of Public Health 

Sate of the ImmUnion ® Brief. Vaccinate Your Family (VYF) has shared their 10^th Annual State of the ImmUnion ® brief. Interested in customizing this brief for your state or organization? Use this template to customize with state-specific data, asks, and references.  

John Hopkins IVAC State Policy Monitoring Resources The International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has developed a series of State-Level Immunization Monitoring webpages and policy briefs displaying tailored information on the extent to which children are protected against vaccine-preventable diseases across the United States. The aim of this activity is to build and sustain policy commitment for the value of childhood vaccination at the state level. 

State resources display annual vaccination rates for DTaP and MMR, public health spending, and vaccination exemption policies for all 50 states and Washington, D.C. They also summarize recently introduced state legislation that would affect vaccination programs. Here’s what’s new:

• Accessible web pages are now available for each state and D.C., with custom data visualizations. 
• These resources are informing local news stories in jurisdictions including Florida and Louisiana.
• New national synthesis briefs highlight trends in proposed legislation and non-medical exemptions to childhood vaccination requirements across the U.S. 

Immunization News in Illinois

Update Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Season from Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). RSV activity remains elevated in Illinois; therefore, infant RSV immunization has been extended through the end of April 2026. Additional information can be read at IDPH’s Health Advisory issues March 19, 2026, found here.

1. As of the week ending March 7, 2026, RSV percent positivity was 8.0%, remaining well above the 3% threshold for the RSV season. Hospitalizations and emergency department visits for RSV also remain elevated. This indicates a delayed end of the RSV season at least through April.
2. Clinicians should actively recommend and offer RSV immunization to all infants under the age of eight months who lack maternal RSV vaccine protection entering or in their first RSV season and to children ages eight months through 19 months who are at increased risk for severe RSV disease and in their second RSV season. Certain infants may receive RSV immunization regardless of maternal vaccination status in specific situations as detailed in the attached document. Immunization should continue through the end of April 2026.
3.  All adults ages 75 years and older, as well as adults ages 50 years through 74 years at increased risk of severe RSV disease, should receive RSV vaccination if they have not previously been vaccinated.
4. If based on clinical judgment there would be benefit from maternal vaccination (e.g., it is unlikely or uncertain that the infant will receive RSV immunization at birth), it is acceptable to continue to vaccinate pregnant individuals at 32 through 36 weeks of pregnancy at this time through the end of March 2026.

In The News

Federal Judge Stalls Health Secretary RFK Jr.’s Overhaul of Vaccine Policy Reconstitution of advisory panel, changes to childhood schedule called likely illegal from STAT (3/16/26). The Common Health Coalition put together a succinct summary of the ruling here.

From National Association of County and City Health Official (NACCHO) Kaiser Family Foundation KFF released new polling examining public trust in the CDC and attitudes toward vaccines following recent changes to the federal childhood vaccine schedule. The findings highlight important shifts in awareness, trust, and confidence that may be helpful for partners as you navigate conversations and communications in your communities. To view the presentation and related materials Click Here.

Key takeaways include:

• Awareness and concern: About half of the public has heard about the changes to the childhood vaccine schedule. Among those aware, more believe the changes will harm children rather than help them (54% vs. 26%), with notable partisan differences.
• Trust in CDC: Public trust in the CDC for vaccine information remains at its lowest point, with fewer than half of adults saying they trust the agency at least a fair amount, a decline of more than 10 percentage points since early 2025.
• Vaccine confidence: Confidence in the safety of MMR and polio vaccines remains high across most groups, while confidence is lower for vaccines that are no longer universally recommended, with wider partisan gaps.

ACOG Withdraws from the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Read the full press release here.  

Each month this section will highlight a vaccine-related trivia question or vaccine-related story. This month is a question. If you know the answer, email mgraven@ipha.com. Check the next issue for the answer!

The answer to last week’s question: A Measles outbreak caused NCAA basketball teams to play multiple games with no spectators. The two teams were Siena College and University of Hartford.

This month, rather than a trivia question, we are making a book recommendation based on a vaccine-preventable disease.

Protection is powerful!

Thank you for helping Illinois stay immunized!