About the Initiative
Business Action on Childhood Vaccinations

Research shows that employer encouragement and paid time off strengthen vaccine uptake. But barriers remain for many working parents who want to vaccinate eligible children for COVID-19 and catch up on routine immunizations that may have been delayed during the pandemic. Getting the 28 million newly eligible children vaccinated is urgent to protect them and prevent the rise of new transmissible variants.

That’s why the Health Action Alliance – in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics, Business Roundtable, and more than two dozen other national business and public health organizations – is continuing to call on employers across the country to take action. Employers are encouraged to support workers who may need help getting their children vaccinated against COVID-19 and catch up on routine immunizations. Widespread vaccination is needed to protect the health of children, keep schools safely open and help employees get back to work.

How Companies Can Take Action

In July 2021, the Health Action Alliance (HAA) launched a coordinated effort by employers, business groups and public health organizations to help families vaccinate their children against COVID-19 and catch up on other routine immunizations that may have been delayed during the pandemic. HAA continues to lead this effort with more than two dozen business and public health partners calling on employers across the country to take one or more of the following actions to support employees with children:

• Provide paid time off for employees with children to attend vaccine appointments, care for children recovering from vaccine side effects, and catch up on well-child visits that may have been postponed during the pandemic.
• Remove barriers associated with childhood vaccination by offering transportation, language support or internet access for scheduling appointments.
• Connect families to free or discounted child care if they need support managing care for multiple children during vaccine appointments.
• Partner with local health departments to host on-site or near-site workplace vaccination clinics for employees and their families.
• Offer employee incentives to encourage childhood vaccinations.

Benefits of Participation

As part of this coordinated effort, employers across the country are being invited to share their specific company actions to support employees who want to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 and catch up on other routine immunizations. Companies that choose to participate will receive the following benefits:

• A press release template to announce your company’s commitment.
• Logo placement on a dedicated page on the Health Action Alliance website along with a short description of your company’s action.
• Potential media opportunities to highlight your company’s commitment.
• Promotional Toolkit to share your participation on social media and helpful messaging for your workforce. We are encouraging all participating companies to activate their commitments in preparation for the holiday season.

As part of this effort, the Health Action Alliance and its partners invite companies to share their specific actions to support families, which may be featured in a digital, social and earned media campaign to drive awareness and inspire action across the private sector. Companies will receive an Employer Toolkit with sample policies, employee fact sheets and Q&A, social media tools, educational videos and other assets to help them activate their commitment.