SickKids pilot offers information on children’s vaccines

Jessica Florio spends her workdays talking with parents who have questions about childhood vaccines.

As a registered nurse with the Vaccine Consult Service at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, Florio is adept at addressing a range of concerns, from worries about the COVID-19 vaccine to fears about side effects following routine immunizations.

In her conversations, Florio provides evidence-based information and points parents to local resources. She says she also takes time to listen — a crucial part of her job.

“Parents want a space where they can be heard,” she says. “Health care in general is pretty fast-paced … Here, they have the time and space to express their concerns and we can focus on this one thing they want to discuss.”

Launched in December, SickKids’ Vaccine Consult Service lets families arrange a phone call with a registered nurse to get information and have an open discussion about childhood vaccines, including routine immunizations, such as those that protect against measles. The service evolved from a similar SickKids phone line from earlier in the pandemic that provided COVID vaccine information. Dr. Shaun Morris, a clinician-scientist in the department of infectious diseases, says its success prompted the hospital to expand the service for all vaccines administered to kids and teens.

“Families have these questions about immunization … There is a demand for this kind of service.”

Morris said the Vaccine Consult Service is currently being run as a pilot project until Friday. He said the goal of the team is for the service to continue with new funding sources.

With the growing threat of measles outbreaks in Ontario, fuelled by declining rates of childhood immunization, experts say an easy-to-book vaccine hotline helps boost public health efforts and fills in gaps amid a primary care crisis.

At the Scarborough Health Network, Dr. Latif Murji has spoken with thousands of people who have vaccine concerns. He’s physician lead of the hospital network’s VaxFacts+ Clinic, which launched during the pandemic to encourage people to get the COVID vaccine through one-on-one phone conversations with a doctor.

VaxFacts+ now offers information on all vaccines. It also helps people with cancer screening and provides preventative health counselling.

The service has helped about 3,000 people since 2021, said Murji, adding that “a big chunk” of those who call in have been referred by friends or family who had positive experiences with VaxFacts+.

Murji said the core mandate of VaxFacts+ is to be a judgment-free space open to hearing the different opinions and perspectives of those who call in, important in a diverse city. Considering people’s cultural backgrounds and previous experiences with the healthcare system is key to building trust, he said.

“And if we can build trust, we can build health literacy … The more people understand the science, the stronger their understanding and they’ll be able to take action that’s going to improve their own health.”