Although COVID-19 has loomed as a threat, vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, whooping cough, and influenza are also still a threat to children and can be prevented through vaccination. Countries across the globe are now experiencing a rapid decline in childhood immunization coverage rates, despite their proven record of preventing serious illness and hospitalization.
Parents strive to ensure their children are healthy and protected from preventable disease, and vaccines are one of the best available tools for doing so. However, many parents report forgetting their child’s immunization schedules and when to ask their pediatrician for them. Additionally, pediatricians have recorded a sharp decline in routine childhood vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
And it’s not just kids who are missing vaccinations, but pregnant people too. A number of vaccines—including those for seasonal flu, whooping cough, and COVID-19—are safe and recommended for pregnant people before, during, and after pregnancy to help keep them and their babies healthy. Despite pregnant people being at increased risk of serious illness and hospitalization from COVID-19, it’s estimated that the total COVID-19 vaccination rate among pregnant people in the United States is around 33%. This rate is even lower among some communities of color (it is estimated that just 17% of Black pregnant women are vaccinated against COVID-19) showing the continued racial disparities in access to the COVID-19 vaccine as well as higher rates of maternal mortality among black birthing people related to COVID-19.
Vaccination schedules shouldn’t fall on parents and expecting parents alone. At Cleo, we believe in providing families the information they need to be an empowered advocate in their child’s and their own health. For this reason, we are excited to announce our latest innovation—in-app vaccine reminders for Cleo members who are pregnant or parents of young children.
Cleo members receive personalized push notifications from the Cleo app with information about what vaccines members may need to receive at prenatal appointments or their child’s annual well-child visit (newborn – 12 years old). These tips are personalized based on the stage in their pregnancy or age of their child to ensure members are receiving the right information at the right time along their health journey.
Vaccine reminders include routine preventative vaccines, the influenza vaccine, and the COVID-19 vaccine. Cleo has also expanded in-app content related to vaccinations that focus on improving health literacy, health equity and providing guidance on questions to ask your healthcare provider, including whether it’s the right decision to vaccinate your child with the COVID-19 vaccine.
We at Cleo know that the personalization in our care model leads to better outcomes and improved whole-family wellness, so we are excited to offer these personalized vaccine reminders as part of our continued innovation to ensure personalized information and resources for Cleo members.