Are Your Patients Fully Protected Against Influenza?
Second Dose Reminder Script (2012-2013 Season)

Some children age 6 months through 8 years may require more than one dose of influenza vaccine to be fully protected. The number of vaccine doses a child needs this season depends on the age at the time the first dose is given and vaccine history. This chart outlines recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) about which children should receive a second dose of vaccine.

It is important that every person administering the vaccine knows this recommendation and clearly communicates with parents.

The following scripts can help providers talk about the number of doses required and remind parents to bring their child back for a second dose, if necessary.

Vaccine for Children Age 6 Months through 8 Years Receiving the Influenza Vaccine for the First Time
Because your child is receiving the influenza vaccine for the first time, [HE/SHE] needs two doses in order to be fully protected against the flu. I can administer the first dose now, but you will need to come back in four weeks for the second dose.

For Children Age 6 Months through 8 Years Who Didn’t Get Two or More Doses of Seasonal Influenza Vaccine since July 2010

Because your child did not get two doses of seasonal flu vaccine since July 2010, it is important that your child receives both doses this year; if [HE/SHE] does not, [HE/SHE] may not be fully protected against the flu. If [HE/SHE] gets both doses this year, [HE/SHE] will only need to get one every year from now on.

Let’s set up a reminder now for you to come back in four weeks to get the second dose for your child.

Implementing a Reminder System

It may be helpful to use a reminder system to ensure that parents bring their child back for a second dose of influenza vaccine. There are several ways to implement a reminder system:

• Email Reminders: Ask the parent to provide an email address before he or she leaves. Each week, keep a list of children age 6 months through 8 years who may need two doses. Set up a reminder in your mail or scheduling system to email all of the parents three weeks after their child received the first dose to remind them to come back for the second dose.

You can utilize a mail merge through Microsoft Office and your email system to easily send all emails at once. Some tips for using a mail merge follow.


Mail Merge Instructions:

Save the parents’ email addresses in an Excel sheet each week. To make the mail merge simpler, you should create an Excel sheet for each week. Use the example below to set up your Excel grid:

Open up a Word document and type in the body of your email. See below for a sample reminder email:

As a reminder, your child needs to come back to [OFFICE/PHARMACY] to get a second dose of influenza vaccine sometime next week. It is important that your child receives both doses this year in order to be fully protected against the flu. We look forward to seeing you again soon. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Determine which version of Microsoft Office you are using and follow the instructions below:

For Microsoft Office 2010

A. In the Word document, click on ‘Mailings’
B. Click on ‘Start Mail Merge’ and ‘Email Messages’
C. Click on ‘Select Recipients’ and ‘Use Existing List’
D. Select the Excel you set up with the parents’ email addresses and click ‘Open’
E. Click ‘OK’ in the ‘Select Table’ box
F. Click ‘Greeting Line’ and ‘OK’ (when you do this, if the Greeting Line does not appear at the top of your document, you should cut and paste it there)
G. Click ‘Preview Results’ to ensure that names will be properly inserted into the email
H. Click ‘Finish and Merge’ and insert a Subject Line (i.e. Reminder for Your Child’s Second Dose of Flu Vaccine)

For Older Versions of Microsoft Office

A. In the Word document, click on ‘Tools’ and ‘Letters and Mailings’
B. Click on ‘Mail Merge’ 
C. Select ‘Email Messages’ and ‘Use the Current Document’
D. Select the Excel you set up with the parents’ email addresses and click ‘Open’
E. Click the ‘Select All’ box
F. Click ‘Greeting Line’ and ‘OK’ (when you do this, if the Greeting Line does not appear at the top of your document, you should cut and paste it there)
G. Click ‘Preview Results’ to ensure that names will be properly inserted into the email
H. Click ‘Complete the Merge’ and insert a Subject Line (i.e. Reminder for Your Child’s Second Dose of Flu Vaccine)

• Text Reminders: Ask the parent to provide a phone number where he or she can receive text messages before he or she leaves. Each week, keep a list of children age 6 months through 8 years of age who may need two doses.

Using a text system, input the phone numbers into the database and set up a reminder text to go out three weeks after their child received the first dose to remind them to come back for the second dose. See below for a sample text script:

This is [PROVIDER] from [LOCATION] reminding you that your child needs to come back for a second dose of influenza vaccine sometime next week. I look forward to seeing you again soon. You can reach me at [PHONE NUMBER/EMAIL ADDRESS] if you have any questions.

If you do not already use a text system, you can utilize a company such as those listed below. Please note, there is a cost associated with this type of reminder.