Press release: 16 year old talent creates animation to educate public about vaccinations

A 16 year old school girl has created an animated video to educate the public about
vaccinations. The video was created in conjunction with Cognitant Group, the Oxford based
healthtech company whose mission is to empower patients with clear, reliable health
information.

The school girl, from St. Marys School Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire (whose
identity is being kept anonymous due to the strong feelings sometimes attached to
vaccinations), chose Cognitant for her work experience as she wants to study medicine when
she leaves school. With support from Cognitant’s medical writing and clinical advisory team,
she wrote, designed and produced the animation as part of this work experience.

From essential childhood immunisations like the MMR to the flu vaccination, there are
concerns that vaccination uptake will drop in the aftermath of COVID-19, with people being
afraid to visit clinics to get routine vaccinations. Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisations at Public Health England, has said: “The national immunisation programme remains in place to protect the nation’s health and no one should be in any doubt of the devastating impact of
diseases such as measles, meningitis and pneumonia. During this time, it is important to
maintain the best possible vaccine uptake to prevent a resurgence of these infections.”

With winter approaching us, the ‘flu jab’ has never been more important. The Department of
Health is hoping to extend the flu vaccination programme to all those above 50 (instead of just
those above 65 years old) if vaccine supply allows. It is imperative that we increase flu vaccine
uptake. By ensuring that people do not get flu, we are reducing the risk of hospitalisation and
death from COVID-19.

Unfortunately for a number of years flu vaccine uptake in the UK has not met targets set by
the World Health Organisation which aims for more than 75% of eligible groups to be
immunised. Last year (2019/20) flu vaccine uptake was at 70.6%. For all these reasons, it is
hoped that this video will help to develop understanding amongst the public around the role of
vaccinations.

Clinical Director of Cognitant, Juhi Tandon, said ‘This animation about vaccination is
particularly special to us with it being produced by the very talented school girl who did work
experience with us this summer. Prevention better than cure is the very foundation of general
practice; therefore as a Primary Care Doctor, I firmly believe that this clear, visual animation
will enable people to better understand vaccinations and make more informed decisions about
whether to take up a recommended vaccination. A huge thank you to our young friend and
colleague for applying her creativity and passion for medicine to this educational video.’’
The school girl said ‘I really enjoyed creating this video about vaccinations. I know that
vaccinations are so key to controlling spread of infection and I am delighted to feel that I am
playing my part in sharing this critical knowledge’.

To view the video, go to https://www.healthinote.com/vaccines.