Vaccinating children and youth protects the whole community.
Even though many children experience only mild symptoms from a COVID-19 infection, some children will become very ill and die. Unvaccinated children, even when they have no symptoms, can still infect people around them. Communities are safest when children are vaccinated.
Health departments and community organizations that serve refugee, immigrant and migrant communities can use this collection of resources in their efforts to extend their vaccine programs to eligible children. These materials center the linguistic and cultural needs of these communities and can be applied in many different settings.
Fact Sheet: Vaccines for Children and Youth
All of our fact sheets are based on CDC guidance, offering facts about COVID-19 vaccines in a simple and memorable way that counters common misconceptions. Our fact sheet on vaccines for children and youth addresses safety, side effects, and what to expect before, during and after the appointment. Our fact sheets include translations in more than 40 languages as well as the ability for you to customize the logo, URL, photo and more.
Conversation Guide: Vaccines for Children and Youth
Dispelling myths and alleviating apprehensions around vaccination requires a trusted relationship and a safe, non-judgmental environment for individuals to voice their concerns and ask questions. Our guides equip readers with the skills to answer questions about COVID-19 vaccines and participate in conversations with others, ultimately supporting vaccine confidence in their communities.
Fertility + Parenthood
COVID-19 vaccines do not affect puberty, or people’s ability to have children. There is no evidence the vaccines affect women’s ability to get pregnant, nor do they affect men’s reproductive ability. COVID-19 vaccines are also safe for caregivers who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Get resources to share accurate information about fertility and parenthood from our fact sheet and conversation guide on the topic.
Toolkit for Schools and School Partners
As schools across the country are going back in session this fall for in-person learning, consider partnering with your local school district to promote COVID-19 vaccines, testing and contact tracing among teachers, staff, families, and eligible students. NRC-RIM has resources, fact sheets, and best practices to support your efforts.
Children Keep Our Community Strong
In this animated short, one immigrant mother explains why she chose to vaccinate her two children against COVID-19. "I am proud of the life we have built in the United States, and I want my community to thrive for years to come," she says. "The COVID-19 vaccine helps us play together, worship together, learn together, and keep our community strong."
English | Arabic | Burmese | Dari | French | Karen
Kinyarwanda | Lingala | Nepali | Pashto | Russian
Spanish | Swahili | Tigrinya | Ukrainian
Children Are My Community's Future
In this video, one immigrant father explains why he chose to vaccinate his two children against COVID-19. "Our two children need our protection," he says. "We are doing everything we can to make sure they can grow up and have their own families someday."
English | Arabic | Burmese | Dari | French | Karen
Kinyarwanda | Lingala | Nepali | Pashto | Russian
Spanish | Swahili | Tigrinya | Ukrainian
Testimonials: Vaccinating Children
Organizations working with RIM communities can help overcome misinformation and disinformation by creating their own staff testimonial videos. Hearing from known and trusted people about their vaccine experience is useful in decreasing fear and increasing acceptance.
English 1 | English 2 | Arabic 1 | Arabic 2
Dari 1 | Dari 2 | Pashto | Swahili
Vaccinating Kids Q&A w/Dr. Anisa Ibrahim
Dr. Anisa Ibrahim answers frequently asked questions about vaccinating children, ranging from "Are COVID-19 vaccines safe for children? What about side-effects?" to "Do kids really need the vaccine? I heard they don’t get very sick from COVID-19." Find the full playlist of videos here.
Encouraging Youth to Mask Up and Get Vaccinated for their Families and Community
Now that the COVID-19 vaccine has been found to be safe and effective for adolescents aged 12 to 17, partnering with schools is an effective way to reduce barriers to vaccination for youth from RIM communities. When on-site vaccination clinics aren’t a possibility, schools can still provide resources and information about opportunities to get vaccinated.
Encouraging COVID-19 Vaccination through Sports
Building trust in the vaccine through community partnerships and respected officials are key to improving vaccination rates. Engaging communities at familiar and frequented event sites, such as sporting and routine athletic events may be one strategy to decrease some of the barriers to vaccination access for RIM communities.
Youth and Young Adult Ambassadors
Youth and young adults continue to have low COVID-19 vaccination rates across the US. Engaging youth is vital in the next stage of vaccine promotion and for reaching herd immunity. Learn how youth ambassadors bring their unique perspectives on how to cut through the noise to deliver important COVID-19 messaging to young people.
Partnerships with Youth Groups
Partnerships with existing community groups are essential for reaching underserved communities and improving the delivery of COVID-19 related services, resources, and information. Youth groups can be especially effective outreach partners.
Partnerships with K-12 Schools Serving RIM Communities
K-12 schools serve as community resources to assist students and families from refugee, immigrant, and migrant communities and are uniquely positioned to bridge cultural and linguistic knowledge gaps for health departments.
Role of Public Libraries in COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
Public libraries serve as ideal partners for COVID-19 vaccination rollout. As a trusted source of information and a well-connected hub within their local communities, libraries across America are working with local and state governments and community leaders to support vaccination efforts.
Community Fairs
Community fairs are a promising way to offer vaccination and other useful services to RIM communities in a relaxed and informal setting. Hosted at an accessible site, community fairs can be organized around themes ranging from school to community health to community resources like food, rent and utility assistance. Read more about how community fairs can be implemented in your community.
Partnering with Social Media Influencers
Social media is a primary source of information for much of the US public, especially youth and young adults. Organizations that are unable to utilize social media to engage with the community can result in a trusted and known presence being absent from this important space, allowing myths, misinformation and disinformation to spread without competition. A solution that can help LHDs and CBOs reach RIM communities through social media, while saving time and effort, is leveraging existing social media influencers.