Immunize Colorado formed the Colorado Refugee and Immigrant Immunization Task Force to identify and address barriers to immunization delivery and uptake among refugee and immigrant populations across the state.
In 2018, the Task Force identified a need to support schools in vaccinating refugee and immigrant students and delivered a survey to school health personnel to learn more about the challenges school nurses and health staff face in ensuring immigrant and refugee students meet school vaccine requirements, as well as current practices and/or needs for enhanced support, education and/or resources to address these obstacles. Survey findings show barriers to vaccine uptake and meeting school vaccine requirements among refugee and immigrant students are primarily related to factors other than vaccine hesitancy or refusal, such as language barriers and vaccine documentation issues.
In response, the Task Force developed this 20-minute, on-demand training to support school nurses and other school health personnel in ensuring refugee and immigrant students are up-to-date on school-required vaccinations.
Providers involved in refugee immunization delivery may also access centralized information on guidelines, technical tips, data and resources related to refugee vaccination on the Task Force’s Colorado Refugee Immunization Provider Resource Hub.