Pin the Vaccine Game for Children

This game is a version of ‘pin the tail on the donkey’. It is designed to help your children learn about the benefits of vaccines and stay safe from diseases. This resource also accompanies the book Spid the Spider Battles a Pandemic. In the story, Spid, Bid and Herman travel home from holiday and discover that they have coronavirus. Initially this means they have to isolate, though they then receive vaccines to help protect from further infections.

Guidelines for Playing ‘Pin the Vaccine’

Firstly, any number of players can play the game.

Secondly, you will need:

1. A printed poster of Spid (see the download)
2. A printed and cut-out ‘injection’ for each player (see the download)
3. A blindfold (for example, a scarf)
4. A pen or pencil to write the names of the players on each ‘injection’
5. A drawing or push pin, piece of adhesive tape or blu-tack or equivalent) to affix to the injection (to enable it to stick on the printed poster)

The poster should be affixed to a wall or wooden board at an appropriate height for the children to reach

Playing ‘Pin the Vaccine’

Each player takes a turn to pin their vaccine on the poster of Spid, the winners are the players who pin their vaccines in Spid’s arm

Before pinning the vaccine, each player should put on the blindfold, and be spun round three times and face the poster (with assistance from a responsible person (referee). The spins are simply to disorientate not to point off in the wrong direction, or cause harm.

The player must then attempt to pin the vaccine on Spid’s arm.

If more than one player succeeds in vaccinating Spid’s arm, then they can re-rerun the game to decide the winner

Vaccination discussion points

Vaccines contain killed or weakened forms of germs like viruses or bacteria. They are usually give by injection but some are given orally (by mouth) or sprayed into the nose. Vaccines teach immune systems how to create antibodies that protect from diseases.

It’s safer for immune systems to learn through vaccination than by catching diseases and then treating them. Once an immune system knows how to fight a disease, it often gives life-long protection.

Having a vaccine also benefits the whole community by giving ‘herd immunity’. This means that if enough people are vaccinated, it’s difficult for disease to spread to people who cannot have vaccines. For example, people who are ill or have a weakened immune system.

Why are vaccines injected into arms?

Injecting vaccines into arm muscles optimises the bodies’ ability to produce antibodies. It also minimises adverse reactions at the injection site.

This is because muscles such as the deltoid in the upper arm and the side of the thigh have an abundant blood supply. This allows the immune systems’ B and T cells to reach the vaccine antigen faster and thus trigger an immune response. Muscle also has fewer pain fibres compared with skin or subcutaneous tissue, so injections into muscles are less painful.