Issue 1225: January 20, 2016
Ask the Experts—Question of the Week: An 86-year-old patient came in today and stated he needed a pneumococcal vaccine…read more
TOP STORIES
IAC HANDOUTS
WORLD NEWS
FEATURED RESOURCES
JOURNAL ARTICLES AND NEWSLETTERS
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS
TOP STORIES
Reminder! December issues of Needle Tips and Vaccinate Adults are available online
The December issues of Needle Tips and Vaccinate Adults are now available online. Vaccinate Adults is an abbreviated version of Needle Tips with the pediatric content removed. Both publications focus on influenza and pneumococcal vaccination, including many new related "Ask the Experts" Q&As from CDC medical officer Andrew T. Kroger, MD, MPH, and nurse educator Donna L. Weaver, RN, MN. You’ll also find new and updated vaccination resources for patients and staff, including standing orders templates, screening checklists, administration guides, and other ready-to-copy educational materials.
Click on the images below to download the December issues (PDF) of Needle Tips and/or Vaccinate Adults.
Needle Tips: View the table of contents, Ask the Experts section, magazine viewer, and back issues.
Vaccinate Adults: View the table of contents, Ask the Experts section, magazine viewer, and back issues.
If you would like to receive immediate email notification whenever new issues of Needle Tips or Vaccinate Adults are released, visit IAC's subscribe page to sign up.
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IAC Spotlight! Three healthcare organizations join IAC's Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll for mandatory healthcare worker vaccination
Almost 600 organizations are now enrolled in IAC's Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll. The honor roll recognizes hospitals, medical practices, professional organizations, health departments, and government entities that have taken a stand for patient safety by implementing mandatory influenza vaccination policies for healthcare personnel.
Since December 16, when IAC Express last reported on the Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll, three additional healthcare organizations have been enrolled.
IAC urges qualifying healthcare organizations to apply.
Newly added healthcare organizations, hospitals, government agencies, and medical practices
- Austin Regional Clinic, Austin, TX
- Pediatric Associates of Alexandria, Alexandria, VA
- St. Luke's University Health Network, Coaldale, PA
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Reminder: CDC requests nominations for its Childhood Immunization Champion Awards
CDC recently requested nominations for its CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award, an annual award that recognizes individuals who make a significant contribution toward improving public health through their work in childhood immunization.
Each year, up to one CDC Immunization Champion from each of the 50 U.S. states, eight U.S. territories and freely associated states, and the District of Columbia will be honored. Champions can include coalition members, parents, healthcare professionals (e.g., physicians, nurses, physicians’ assistants, nurse practitioners, medical assistants, etc.), and other immunization leaders who meet the award criteria. Immunization program managers, state and federal government employees paid by state or federal immunization funding, individuals who have been affiliated with and/or employed by pharmaceutical companies, and those who have already received the award are not eligible to apply (for details, see page 3 of the nomination packet).
Awardees will be announced during National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW), which runs April 16–23 this year. Champions will receive a certificate of recognition, will be featured on CDC’s web site, and may be recognized by their immunization program during NIIW.
All nomination forms should be submitted to respective immunization programs. The suggested due date is January 29, 2016, but states may select a different deadline. Please contact your state immunization program to confirm your state’s deadline.
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FDA approves Hiberix for full Hib vaccine series
On January 14, FDA approved an expanded age indication for GSK’s Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine, Hiberix, to include children age six weeks through four years. Previously, Hiberix was only licensed for the final booster dose of Hib vaccine.
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Medscape posts commentary by Dr. Paul Offit on a child's right to be vaccinated
Medscape posted a commentary by Paul Offit, MD, director, Vaccine Education Center of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, on January 11. In A Child’s Right to Be Vaccinated, Dr. Offit discusses one of the reasons why California’s new vaccination law only allows medical exemptions. It was a 14th Amendment argument—specifically, the second clause of the 14th Amendment—which states that all citizens of the United States should have equal protection under the law that helped in passing this law.
You will need to log in to view any Medscape offerings. Registration is free.
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Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research publishes a collection of personal stories about HPV
The Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research, Texas Children's Hospital, has introduced a new book titled Vaccine-Preventable Disease: Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) to educate families about the HPV vaccine. HPV is one of the most prevalent infections in the U.S., yet vaccination rates remain low. Featuring the personal stories of ten individuals who have been affected by HPV, the book includes surprising facts about HPV and clears up myths about the vaccine. Two testimonials from the stories are reprinted below:
"I'm grateful for any opportunity to protect my children, and vaccines are one of the best ways I can do so. It is something we can all do for our children and their future spouses. I never want one of my daughters to experience what I did, especially when it is preventable." Jane Wagner
“I had no idea HPV caused so many kinds of cancer in both women and men." Michael Terry
To preview the HPV book or order copies ($3.00 each), please visit vaccinebook.texaschildrens.org or email rmcunnin@texaschildrens.org.
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Save the Date: VICNetwork offers February 4 webinar to help providers prepare for National Infant Immunization Week
The VICNetwork has scheduled a webinar on February 4 titled National Infant Immunization Week 2016. This webinar will focus resources and materials to help immunization providers highlight the importance of infant immunizations during this annual observance, held this year April 16–23.
Speakers for this webinar are Dave McCormick, director of the Indiana Immunization Division, Indiana Immunization Program Manager; Lisa Robertson, executive director, Indiana Immunization Coalition; and Jill Woodard, Northrop Grumman Health Research Associate working at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC.
The one-hour webinar begins at 2:00 p.m. (ET).
The Virtual Immunization Communication (VIC) Network is a project of the National Public Health Information Coalition and the California Immunization Coalition.
Registrations are being accepted.
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Don't forget to participate in CDC's #VaxWithMe selfie photo campaign
CDC's #VaxWithMe selfie campaign is an innovative way to capture and share influenza vaccination promotion across various digital platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube). This campaign encourages individuals to share photos and videos of themselves during or after getting vaccinated against influenza, using the hashtag #VaxWithMe. Encourage people to continue to get vaccinated against influenza by participating in this fun campaign—just tag a photo or video with #VaxWithMe.
View an interactive display of selfies posted for the campaign.
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IAC HANDOUTS
IAC updates patient education handout, "Vaccines work!"
IAC recently updated Vaccines work!, a chart that demonstrates the dramatic declines in vaccine-preventable diseases since the pre-vaccine era. The most recent reports or estimates of U.S. cases have been updated with the most recent CDC statistics.
IAC's Handouts for Patients & Staff web section offers healthcare professionals and the public more than 250 FREE English-language handouts (many also available in translation), which we encourage website users to print out, copy, and distribute widely.
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IAC revises its resource for healthcare professionals, "Before you vaccinate adults, consider their 'H-A-L-O!'"
IAC recently revised Before you vaccinate adults, consider their "H-A-L-O"! to remove the checkmark in the "Hib" row in the "Immunosuppressed" column. This handout is an easy-to-use chart that can help healthcare professionals make an initial decision about vaccinating a patient based on four factors—the patient’s Health condition, Age, Lifestyle, and Occupation.
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WORLD NEWS
Cholera vaccine supply set to double, easing global shortage
The global supply of oral cholera vaccines is set to double after WHO approved a third producer, a company based in the Republic of Korea. Currently demand exceeds supply, so the addition of a third supplier should ease the global shortage of this vaccine.
Access more information from the WHO website: Cholera vaccine supply set to double, easing global shortage
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WHO reports on rabies transmitted by dogs
On January 15, WHO's Weekly Epidemiological Record published a report titled Human rabies transmitted by dogs: current status of global data, 2015. The beginning of the article is reprinted below.
Rabies, a vaccine-preventable viral disease with one of the highest case-fatality rates, close to 100%, continues to kill in many countries of the world. About 95% of the human deaths caused by rabies are due to virus transmission through the bites of infected dogs. In this report, rabies refers specifically to human rabies transmitted by dogs. The WHO roadmap on Neglected Tropical Diseases sets out the goals for the NTDs which include elimination of rabies as a public health problem, defined as zero human rabies deaths. Working towards this goal, in recent years demonstration projects in several countries have shown how dog-transmitted rabies could be effectively controlled and eventually eliminated through mass vaccination of dogs, combined with increased surveillance, building of public awareness, and improved access to post-exposure prophylaxis.
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Influenza is spreading and serious; please keep vaccinating your patients
According to this week's FluView report from CDC, seasonal influenza activity increased slightly in the United States. While influenza A (H3N2) viruses have been most common since October 1, in the past three weeks, influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 viruses have predominated. The vast majority of circulating influenza viruses analyzed this season remain similar to the vaccine virus components for this season's influenza vaccines.
Influenza vaccination is recommended for everyone six months of age and older. If you don't provide influenza vaccination in your clinic, please recommend vaccination to your patients and refer them to a clinic or pharmacy that provides vaccines or to the HealthMap Vaccine Finder to locate sites near their workplaces or homes that offer influenza vaccination services. Influenza antiviral drugs can treat influenza illness. CDC has issued guidance for clinicians on the use of antiviral treatment in the 2015–16 flu season. Early antiviral treatment works best.
Following is a list of resources related to influenza disease and vaccination for healthcare professionals and the public:
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The Vaccine Handbook: A Practical Guide for Clinicians, a.k.a. "The Purple Book," by Dr. Gary Marshall available for purchase from IAC
The Vaccine Handbook: A Practical Guide for Clinicians (“The Purple Book,” 2015, 560 pages) is a uniquely comprehensive source of practical, up-to-date information for vaccine providers and educators. Its author, Gary S. Marshall, MD, has drawn together the latest vaccine science and guidance into a concise, user-friendly, practical resource for the private office, public health clinic, academic medical center, and hospital.
IAC Executive Director Deborah Wexler, MD, is enthusiastic about helping get this book circulated as widely as possible. “During more than 20 years in the field of immunization education, I have not seen a book that is so brimming with state-of-the-science vaccine information,” she states. "This book belongs in the hands of every medical student, physician-in-training, doctor, nursing student, and nurse who provides vaccines to patients.”
The Vaccine Handbook provides:
- Information on every licensed vaccine in the United States
- Rationale behind authoritative vaccine recommendations
- Contingencies encountered in everyday practice
- A chapter dedicated to addressing vaccine concerns
- Background on how vaccine policy is made
- Standards and regulations
- Office logistics, including billing procedures, and much more
About the Author
Gary Marshall, MD, is professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky, where he serves as chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases and director of the Pediatric Clinical Trials Unit. In addition to being a busy clinician, he is nationally known for his work in the areas of vaccine research, advocacy, and education.
The newly released fifth edition of this invaluable guide is now available on IAC’s website at www.immunize.org/vaccine-handbook.
The price of the handbook is $29.95 each, plus shipping charges. Discount pricing is available for more than 10 copies. Order copies for your staff or for distribution at an upcoming conference.
Quantity Discount Pricing
- 1–10 books: no discount + shipping
- 11–50 books: 5% + shipping
- 51–100 books: 10% + shipping
- 101–500 books: 15% + shipping
- 501–1000 books: 20% + shipping
For quotes on larger quantities, email admininfo@immunize.org.
Order your copy today!
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JOURNAL ARTICLES AND NEWSLETTERS
AAP's Red Book Alert article summarizes what's new with influenza
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) posted What’s the Latest with the Flu? as a Red Book Alert on January 11. This alert reviews the 2015–16 influenza season, and provides information about which children should get two doses of vaccine, including a study on the importance of the second dose of flu vaccine for those children who need it. It also highlights the importance of antiviral medications, and strategies to reach out to families.
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EDUCATION AND TRAINING
"Someone You Love: The HPV Epidemic" is a feature-length documentary that presents the struggles and triumphs of five women whose lives were changed forever by this deadly virus. Directed by Frederic Lumiere and narrated by Vanessa Williams, the film interweaves personal stories with facts about this common and potentially deadly virus. The goal of this project is to raise awareness of HPV and cervical cancer.
The film is available at no charge through the Indiana University School of Medicine, in partnership with the
Indiana Immunization Coalition and Lumiere Media, as an online CME activity worth 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits for physicians and for 1.5 credit hours (0.15 CEU) for pharmacists and pharmacy techs.
Access more information on the Indiana University Division of Continuing Medical Education website.
NOTE: Groups wishing to inquire about sponsoring a screening of this film should contact Lumiere Media at
cheryl@hpvepidemic.com.
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HPV education program available with free continuing education credit for physicians, nurses, and pharmacists
CDC and the National Area Health Education Center Organization have developed an online self-study program on HPV vaccination for healthcare professionals. Watching "You Are the Key to HPV Cancer Prevention: Understanding the Burden of HPV Disease, the Importance of the HPV Vaccine Recommendation, and Communicating about HPV Vaccination" can provide free continuing education credit as follows:
- 1.5 ACCME credit hours for physicians
- 1.4 ANCC contact hours for nurses
- 1.4 contact hours for pharmacists
To access this course, go to http://nationalahec.org and click on the "FREE CE OPPORTUNITY" button on the home page.
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CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS
Early bird registration open for the National Conference for Immunization Coalitions and Partnerships; meeting scheduled for May 25–27 in Indianapolis
Registration is now open for the 12th National Conference for Immunization Coalitions and Partnerships, Ready. Set. Vaccinate!, to be held in Indianapolis on May 25–27. This is a great opportunity for coalition leaders to learn from expert speakers and network with members of immunization coalitions from around the nation. The early bird registration rate is only available until February 12, so plan to register soon.
Note: This conference was formerly known as the National Conference on Immunization and Health Coalitions. The goal of the National Conference for Immunization Coalitions and Partnerships is to improve community health by enhancing the effectiveness of coalitions and partners through training in relevant coalition management and health promotion topics, as well as to provide networking and professional development opportunities.
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ASK THE EXPERTS
Question of the Week
An 86-year-old patient came in today and stated he needed a pneumococcal vaccine booster. He reports receiving a dose of “pneumonia vaccine” when he was 77 years old. Which pneumococcal should he receive today, PCV13 or PPSV23?
It is unlikely that the previous dose of pneumococcal vaccine was PCV13, since this vaccine was not routinely recommended for any adult population nine years ago. The patient most likely received pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23). A dose of PCV13 should be given now. People who receive PPSV23 after age 65 years are not recommended to receive additional doses of PPSV23.
About IAC's Question of the Week
Each week, IAC Express highlights a new, topical, or important-to-reiterate Q&A. This feature is a cooperative venture between IAC and CDC. William L. Atkinson, MD, MPH, IAC's associate director for immunization education, chooses a new Q&A to feature every week from a set of Q&As prepared by experts at CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
We hope you enjoy this new feature and find it helpful when dealing with difficult real-life scenarios in your vaccination practice. Please encourage your health care professional colleagues to sign up to receive IAC Express at www.immunize.org/subscribe.
If you have a question for the CDC immunization experts, you can email them directly at nipinfo@cdc.gov. There is no charge for this service.
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