Engaging schools to reduce kinds of vaccine exemptions
Official title: Engaging school communities to prevent exemptions to kindergarten vaccination mandates
Funded at Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · NIH-11503936 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A program with Georgia, Wisconsin, and Idaho schools to help families stay up to date on kindergarten vaccines by addressing real reasons for exemptions.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2024 |
| Project end | September 29, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $350,000 |
| NIH project number | 5U48DP006839-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11503936 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are school-age children and their families in participating Georgia, Wisconsin, and Idaho communities, especially those considering exemptions.
✕Less likely to help
Families in communities outside the participating states or those not engaged with school-based health initiatives may see no direct benefit.
What this research studies
This project partners with school communities to understand why some families seek exemptions to kindergarten vaccination requirements and to design targeted supports. The work will examine drivers at multiple levels, then develop and test an intervention that can address perceptions, social norms, and practical barriers to vaccination. It aims to fit into real school settings and influence policies and actions that make it easier for families to vaccinate their children. The study will be conducted in nine school communities across three states over several years.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the intervention could help maintain high vaccination coverage and protect communities from vaccine-preventable diseases.
How similar studies have gone: Previous school-based approaches have shown promise in shaping vaccine norms and reducing exemptions, but results vary by context.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ammerman, Alice S — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Ammerman, Alice S
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Protective dengue vaccines that steer T and B cell responses
A vaccine study aims to guide the body’s T and B cells to fight all four dengue virus types safely and effectively.
-
Respiratory pathogen–specific T cell signatures after vaccination, infection, and treatment
A research effort to map how immune T cells respond to respiratory infections and vaccines, with potential to guide better vaccines and treatments for conditions like covid-19 and pertussis.
-
Malaria vaccine and infection: how the body’s early and later immune responses relate to protection
Researchers are studying how people’s immune systems respond to the malaria pre-erythrocytic stage, whether after vaccination or infection, to identify which responses are linked to protection.
-
Spatially responsive mass vaccination for urban rabies
A new plan uses data and maps to place vaccination sites where they’re most needed in cities, aiming to boost rabies vaccination for both people and dogs.
-
Spatially responsive mass vaccination for urban rabies
A project tests smarter placement of vaccination sites to increase mass canine rabies vaccination in cities.
-
Vaccine failure after Covid-19 vaccination in older adults
This project follows vaccinated older adults to understand who among them still gets Covid-19 and what factors make those outcomes worse.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.