How to Talk to Patients About Respiratory Virus Vaccines This Year? The Same Way We Always Do

"Stay away from the politics; that's not going to be helpful," William Schaffner, MD, advised in a recent interview with Patient Care.© In the conversation about how to manage questions that may come up during respiratory virus season this year, Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and vaccine expert, emphasized communication strategies that feel reminiscent of recommendations made during COVID:

• Listen carefully to the patient's concern or question to help discern what might be prompting it
• Reinforce that you're glad they raised the question and that it's a common one
• Answer the question quickly and confidently and then "bridge to something that's comforting and reassuring"

Concern and questions about vaccines, both for children and adults, have a long history in the US. Shifts in federal policy, the freighted rhetoric, and fierce social media commentary since the January change in administration have been exacerbating the heightened confusion and distrust that are the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic. As was true then, health care professionals continue to be the most trusted source of information on vaccines and vaccination. The 2025-2026 respiratory virus season is another opportunity to broaden and deepen that trust with your patients. Be honest and sincere and, as Schaffner suggests in the short video above, "always with a smile."

Patient Care: Given the controversy and the explosion of political rhetoric, how should frontline clinicians this year navigate conversations with patients who may be confused or skeptical about vaccine safety and efficacy?

William Schaffner, MD: Well, the first thing I would say is stay away from the politics, that's not going to be helpful. Number two, listen carefully to your patients express concern and then reinforce that you are glad that they have raised the question, and that the question they have raised is actually a frequently asked question. By reinforcing that the patient is put at ease and is ready to listen. And then I think clinicians need to answer the question as quickly as possible, and then bridge to something that's comforting and reassuring.

I'm a very personal kind of doctor, so I will frequently say, "Of course, my wife and I have been vaccinated against COVID, and so is everyone in our family, including our grandchildren. Well, what I do is make it very personal, reassuring and comforting. And then I also say, you know, if you look around our practice, you will see that every doctor and every nurse wants to extend the benefits of that protection to everyone who's in our practice. That makes it the social norm. So if it's the social norm and you provide this personal touch, I think that that will go a long way. You won't convince every patient, of course not, but you will convince a substantial proportion, and of those whom you don't convince, always with a smile, say, "You know Charlie, when I see you again in a few months, we'll talk about this again." It's a promise, not a threat. Always with a smile and reinforce the fact that it's important that your patients have asked questions.

William Schaffner, MD, is professor of preventive medicine with a primary appointment in the department of health policy and a professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, in Nashville, TN. Schaffner is the current medical director and past president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and has served on the Executive Board for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

For more of our conversation with Dr Schaffner, see:

What's the Mood Among Infectious Disease Experts Right Now? We Asked William Schaffner, MD

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