Reframing Vaccines as Innovation: A Strategy to Rebuild Patient Trust in Primary Care

As part of National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM), infectious disease physician and Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security senior scholar Amesh Adalja, MD, says physicians need to adopt a fresh approach when talking to patients about vaccines: frame them as a form of advanced, life-improving technology. Just as patients eagerly embrace innovations like smartphones or wearable devices, vaccines should be positioned as powerful tools that prepare the body to navigate a world filled with infectious threats. Dr Adalja suggests that this reframing can shift public perception away from fear or skepticism and toward appreciation—particularly at a time when vaccine misinformation is widespread and trust in public health is under pressure. For PCPs, using this mindset in everyday conversations may help restore enthusiasm and reinforce vaccine confidence within their communities. Details in the video above.

Amesh Adalja, MD, is an adjunct assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and founder of Tracking Zebra, an infectious disease-related project management, consulting, media, and strategy firm.

The following transcript has been lightly edited for style and clarity.

Patient Care: What is one action every physician can take during National Immunization Awareness Month to build vaccine confidence?

Dr Adalja: What I would tell physicians to do is really emphasize to their patients what a great piece of technology vaccines are. I always tell people to think of vaccines the way they think of a new iPhone—you really want to get it because it has all the new features, and it prepares you to navigate life. That’s what vaccines do. We should celebrate vaccines as a great piece of technology that makes human life easier in a planet that teams with microorganisms. If people started to view vaccines the way they view iPhones and other pieces of technology, the antivaccine movement would have a hard time trying to convince them that vaccines are not a value, because they so clearly are. But we just don't recognize them. We take them for granted.