IAC updates its “Diseases and Vaccines” web section on Immunize.org
IAC has recently updated its
Diseases and Vaccines web section on www.immunize.org. The section is comprised of a main page plus 22 additional pages, one for each vaccine-preventable disease, including a new web page about meningococcal serogroup B disease and vaccine. The web pages include links to the latest ACIP recommendations and IAC and federal government resources, including a prominent box that links to CDC's information for healthcare professionals web page about that particular vaccine. Each page also provides links to the related Vaccine Information Statement, "Ask the Experts" Q&As, photos and videos, and Unprotected People Reports, as well as package inserts and standing orders.
Here are some of the more popular and newly updated pages for you to visit:
Visit the updated Disease and Vaccines web section and
bookmark this section for easy future reference. You can easily locate the
Diseases and Vaccines web section by going to IAC’s home page, www.immunize.org, and clicking on the fourth navigation tab across the top of the page.
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CDC reports on coverage with Tdap and influenza vaccine among pregnant women in Minnesota
CDC published Coverage
with Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Acellular Pertussis Vaccine and Influenza
Vaccine Among Pregnant Women—Minnesota, March 2013–December 2014 in the January 20 issue of MMWR (pages
56–9). A summary made available to the press is reprinted below.
This study measured the rates of Tdap and influenza vaccination among
pregnant women in Minnesota using data from Minnesota’s immunization
information system and the Office of Vital Records. Overall, coverage with
Tdap vaccine was 58.2% and with influenza vaccine was 45.9%. Coverage was
higher for each vaccine among women who received adequate prenatal care
compared with those who received inadequate or intermediate care. Coverage
also varied by mother’s race, country of birth, and other demographic
characteristics. Further study is needed to better understand the maternal
vaccination disparities found in this study and inform future public health
efforts.
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CDC publishes article on use of social media for communication during a mumps outbreak in New York City
CDC published Notes from the Field:
Use of Social Media as a Communication Tool During a Mumps Outbreak—New York
City, 2015 in the January 20 issue of MMWR (pages
60–1). The first paragraph is reprinted below.
On August 16, 2015, a case of parotitis in a resident of the Rockaways neighborhood of Queens, New York City (NYC), was reported to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) as a suspected mumps case. Subsequent investigations by DOHMH discovered an outbreak of mumps in the Rockaways, with 52 confirmed and probable mumps cases. DOHMH conducted a Facebook advertisement campaign providing information about mumps and the outbreak, which was targeted to Facebook users in the Rockaways neighborhood. The advertisement was shown to 86,111 persons during an approximately 2-week period and provided a timely and inexpensive means of effectively communicating with a large, targeted population.
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Voices for Vaccines releases podcast about the importance of HPV vaccination
Voices for Vaccines (VFV) has posted the first entry in its new Vax Talk podcast series: HPV Vaccine and Someone You Love. In this podcast Karen Ernst, director of Voices for Vaccines, and Nathan Boonstra, MD, pediatrician with Blank Children's Hospital, take on the myths and the facts about the HPV vaccine. In the second half of the podcast, filmmaker Frederic Lumiere ("Someone You Love: The HPV Epidemic" and Lady Ganga) and Christine Baze (Yellow Umbrella Organization) discuss what they learned from making "Someone You Love" and from surviving cervical cancer, respectively.
Voices for Vaccines is a national organization of parents and others who are dedicated to raising the level of the voices of immunization supporters. VFV invites everyone who values vaccines to become a member. Please spread the word to your friends and colleagues to register for the conference call and to join VFV!
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Reminder: CDC requests nominations for its Childhood Immunization Champion Awards
The CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award is 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, and medical assistants), and other immunization leaders
who meet the award criteria. Self-nominations are welcome, or you may submit
an application for a deserving individual.
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 22–29 this year. Champions will receive a certificate of
recognition, will be featured on CDC’s website, and may be recognized by their
immunization program during NIIW.
Nominations should be submitted to the Immunization Program Manager in the state or territory where the nominee resides by February 3.
Please contact your state immunization program to confirm your state’s
deadline.
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Reminder: Nominations are now open for the National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit Excellence Awards
The National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit (NAIIS) is now soliciting nominations for the 2017 Immunization Excellence Awards. These prestigious awards recognize individuals and organizations that have made extraordinary contributions towards improving vaccination rates within their communities during 2016. The awards focus on individuals and organizations that exemplify the meaning of the "immunization neighborhood" (collaboration, coordination, and communication among immunization stakeholders dedicated to meeting the immunization needs of the patient and protecting the community from vaccine-preventable diseases).
The national winner in each category will be invited to present their program
at the 2017 NAIIS meeting, to be held May 9–11 in Atlanta, Georgia. The
deadline for receipt of nominations is February 24.
Nominations are being accepted for the following six award categories:
- NEW: Non-Healthcare Employer Campaign
- Laura Scott NAIIS Immunization Excellence Award for Outstanding Influenza Season Activities Campaign
- “Immunization Neighborhood” Champion
- Adult Immunization Champion
- Corporate Campaign
- Adult Immunization Publication Award
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IAC HANDOUTS
IAC updates and redesigns "Reliable Sources of Immunization Information"
IAC recently revised and redesigned Reliable Sources of Immunization Information: Where Parents Can Go to Find Answers! Many resources were added and links and other ways to obtain vaccine information were updated.
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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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WORLD NEWS
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations launched to assist in vaccine development to prevent epidemics throughout the world
On January 18, the global Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) was officially launched to assist in vaccine development to prevent epidemics. The first three paragraphs of the coalition's press release are reprinted below.
A global coalition to create new vaccines for emerging infectious diseases, designed to help give the world an insurance policy against epidemics, launches today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
With an initial investment of US$460m from the governments of Germany, Japan
and Norway, plus the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust,
CEPI—the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations—will seek to outsmart
epidemics by developing safe and effective vaccines against known infectious
disease threats that could be deployed rapidly to contain outbreaks, before
they become global health emergencies.
CEPI also hopes to shorten the time it takes to develop new vaccines to protect against viruses that emerge suddenly as public health threats, as Zika did recently, by capitalising on exciting developments in adaptable vaccine technology and investing in facilities that could respond quickly to previously unknown pathogens.
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WHO reports on maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination validation in Punjab Province, Pakistan
WHO published Maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination: validation in Punjab Province, Pakistan, November 2016 in the January 20 issue of its Weekly Epidemiological Record. One paragraph from the "Background" section is reprinted below.
UNICEF and WHO estimate that in 2013, NT was responsible for 49,000 deaths worldwide, a reduction of about 94% when compared with the late 1980s. Additionally, several thousand mothers are also estimated to die from maternal tetanus annually.
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Hepatitis B Foundation launches storytelling project: #justB
The Hepatitis B Foundation has officially launched its new storytelling campaign:
#justB: Real People Sharing their Stories of Hepatitis B. The volunteers sharing their stories do so to put a human face on this serious disease, decrease stigma and discrimination, and promote the importance of testing and treatment for hepatitis B. A new story will be featured each month throughout 2017.
Watch the January story about a couple adopting a baby from a birth mother infected with the hepatitis B virus:
Janet & Kurt's Story.
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Influenza is spreading and serious; please keep vaccinating your patients
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.
Following is a list of resources related to influenza disease and vaccination for healthcare professionals and the public:
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NFID schedules two webinars: an interview with Dr. Stanley Plotkin and a summary of the February ACIP meeting
The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) will present the following webinars in the upcoming months:
- Interview with Stanley Plotkin, MD: "Greatest Vaccinology Discoveries of the Last Decade and Future Predictions," February 15 at 12:00 p.m. (ET) Register
- Updates from February 2017 ACIP Meeting March 1 at 12:00 p.m. (ET) Register
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CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS
Save the date: Immunize Georgia Conference scheduled for September 15
The 2017 Immunize Georgia Conference will be held September 15, in Columbus. More information is available on Immunize Georgia's website.
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ASK THE EXPERTS
Question of the Week
I have a patient who received inactivated influenza vaccine in Brazil in September 2016. Does he need to be revaccinated with the current U.S. formulation?
No. The southern hemisphere influenza vaccine formulation for 2016 contains the
same viruses in both trivalent and quadrivalent vaccines as the northern
hemisphere vaccine for the 2016–17 season.
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 feature and find it helpful when dealing with difficult real-life scenarios in your vaccination practice. Please encourage your healthcare 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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