Emerging Vaccine Strategies in Pulmonary Care at ATS 2026: Jamie R. Felzer, MD

Vaccines were a pivotal talking point in the kick-off education session, “A Clinical Year in Review,” at the American Thoracic Society 2026 International Conference in Orlando, Florida, from May 17 to 20, 2026.

Panelist Jamie R. Felzer, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, stressed the importance of vaccine adherence and making them easily accessible to patients regardless of where they receive them. Another hurdle to overcoming dips in vaccine adherence, she said, is making sure patients understand vaccination guidelines and, more specifically, the language used.

“I think right now a lot of the shared decision-making models are really confusing for patients, and we need to make sure that our guidelines are clear so that it's easy for patients to know, ‘Oh, I can just go to my pharmacy,’ or ‘I can go to my doctor,’” Felzer said.

The rapidly evolving vaccine guideline landscape also hinders clinicians’ ability to give their patients the most up-to-date information for timing the receipt of their vaccinations. Given clinicians’ busy schedules, she says it’s often difficult to keep up with the changes and relay the information to patients, emphasizing the importance of patients taking time to review the guidelines themselves.

Another way Felzer encouraged adherence is through co-administration. Instead of scheduling separate appointments solely for vaccination, she said patients and clinicians should partner to “optimize every opportunity [they] have for delivering vaccination,” specifically in adults.

Further tying the dip in vaccination rates to public trust, she said that gaining the public’s trust will also help to increase adherence. She concluded the conversation by noting that every patient should have a conversation or treatment plan tailored to them and that prioritizing vaccinations is in each individual’s best interest and in the public health interest.

“The scientific community is using science to make these recommendations, and so we have to get the public's trust back again and prove that vaccines are a tried-and-true method,” Felzer said. “And we need to make sure that we're giving vaccines in order to prevent disease.”