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Issue 1,579: July 21, 2021
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World News
Featured Resources
Journal Articles and Newsletters
Upcoming Meetings
Immunization PSAs from the Archive
Top Stories
It’s back to school season! Check out updated www.Give2MenACWY.org website to increase coverage for the MenACWY booster and other adolescent vaccinations
IAC’s www.Give2MenACWY.org website promotes the importance of adolescent vaccination, including administering the recommended booster dose of MenACWY vaccine at age 16. Many teens are behind on vaccines because of the pandemic, so adolescent vaccination is more important than ever.
Original materials on this colorful website for healthcare professionals have been updated to incorporate the 2020 ACIP meningococcal vaccine recommendations and the most recent vaccine coverage statistics from CDC’s National Immunization Survey–Teen (NIS–Teen). One particularly popular resource on the site is the updated Algorithm for MenACWY Immunization in Adolescents 11–18 Years of Age.
The website’s navigation structure makes locating information a breeze; it is divided into five easy-to-access sections:
The site also categorizes materials according to whether they are primarily of interest to providers, to adolescents, or to parents.
Visit Give2MenACWY.org and enjoy browsing (and deploying) its bountiful resources.
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U.S. Surgeon General warns American public about threat of health misinformation
On July 15, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory titled Confronting Health Misinformation: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on Building a Healthy Information Environment. Portions of the press release appear below.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy is issuing the first Surgeon General's Advisory of this Administration to warn the American public about the urgent threat of health misinformation. Health misinformation, including disinformation, have threatened the U.S. response to COVID-19 and continue to prevent Americans from getting vaccinated, prolonging the pandemic and putting lives at risk, and the advisory encourages technology and social media companies to take more responsibility to stop online spread of health misinformation.
"Health misinformation is an urgent threat to public health. It can cause confusion, sow mistrust, and undermine public health efforts, including our ongoing work to end the COVID-19 pandemic," said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy. "As Surgeon General, my job is to help people stay safe and healthy, and without limiting the spread of health misinformation, American lives are at risk. From the tech and social media companies who must do more to address the spread on their platforms, to all of us identifying and avoiding sharing misinformation, tackling this challenge will require an all-of-society approach, but it is critical for the long-term health of our nation."
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August is National Immunization Awareness Month; promote vaccination with CDC resources
August is National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM). This annual observance highlights the efforts of healthcare professionals to protect patients of all ages against vaccine-preventable diseases through on-time vaccination.
It is critical to maintain routine vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect both individuals and communities. Routine vaccination prevents illnesses that lead to additional medical visits, hospitalizations, and further strain on the healthcare system. This year, CDC is calling on its partners to amplify these important messages when communicating with parents, pregnant women, healthcare professionals, and other adults.
CDC’s NIAM web page includes two toolkits, one for reaching healthcare professionals and the other for reaching parents and patients. Each includes key messages, sample social media content, and educational resources. CDC encourages its partners to share these messages and resources throughout August using the hashtag #ivax2protect. Stay tuned for more resources to be released throughout the coming weeks.
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IAC Spotlight! Review of resources at Immunize.org focused on vaccine products
In this week's IAC Spotlight, we summarize resources at Immunize.org that focus on specific vaccine products.
Our Vaccines gateway page links to information about 23 vaccines and the diseases they prevent. For each vaccine, access the latest recommendations, information, and up-to-date resources from IAC and CDC.
Our Package Inserts and FDA Product Approvals gateway page is a handy resource for clinics that administer vaccines. The gateway page provides up-to-date product information links for all vaccines licensed for use in the U.S., as well as links to FDA vaccine approval web pages.
Our Standing Orders Templates for Administering Vaccines gateway page contains 36 templates and related resources for vaccines recommended for children, teens, and adults. The page links to CDC’s standing orders templates for administering COVID-19 vaccines.
Our Vaccine Manufacturers gateway page provides links to the websites of the vaccine manufacturers in the U.S., as well as contact information such as phone numbers and email addresses. In addition, the vaccine products for each of the companies are listed.
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FDA licenses pneumococcal 15-valent conjugate vaccine, Vaxneuvance, for adults age 18 years and older
On July 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licensed Merck's pneumococcal 15-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV15), Vaxneuvance, for the prevention of pneumococcal diseases by 15 Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes in adults 18 years of age and older.
The ACIP will consider recommendations for the use of PCV15 in its upcoming meetings. An ACIP vote on recommendations is possible as early as October 2021.
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IAC experts called on by news media
Journalists seek out IAC experts to help explain vaccines to the public and policy makers. Our goal is to help the media understand and communicate the complex work vaccinators do. Here is a selection of our recent citations.
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Immunization articles in the news
These recent articles convey the potential risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and the importance of vaccination.
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World News
WHO updates position paper on rotavirus vaccines
WHO published Rotavirus Vaccines: WHO Position Paper—July 2021 in the July 16 issue of its Weekly Epidemiological Record.
This is the most recent addition to a series of regularly updated WHO position papers on vaccines that have global public health impact in large-scale vaccination programs, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. The following appears in the position paper:
The global impact of rotavirus vaccine is evident from the 40% reduction in rotavirus prevalence following the introduction of vaccine documented by an analysis of data from 69 countries participating in the Global Rotavirus Surveillance Network (GRSN)…
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July 28 is World Hepatitis Day
World Hepatitis Day takes place every year on July 28, bringing the world together under a single theme to raise awareness of the global burden of viral hepatitis and to influence real change. From the World Hepatitis Day website:
This year’s theme is “Hepatitis Can’t Wait.” With a person dying every 30 seconds from a hepatitis related illness – even in the current COVID-19 crisis – we can’t wait to act on viral hepatitis. There are five main strains of the hepatitis virus – A, B, C, D and E. Together, hepatitis B and C are the most common which result in 1.1 million deaths and 3 million new infections per year.
Access the World Hepatitis Day website for more information and campaign materials in multiple languages.
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Featured Resources
Spread the word! IAC offers FREE "I Got My COVID-19 Vaccine" buttons and stickers to those promoting vaccination in hesitant communities! Available in English and Spanish.
Public health departments, nonprofit organizations, and clinics that provide vaccination services in communities experiencing health disparities or vaccine hesitancy can order IAC’s FREE “I Got My COVID-19 Vaccine” buttons and stickers, provided with support from CDC. Available in English and Spanish, the buttons and stickers can be placed on lab coats, uniforms, jackets, lanyards, ID badges, or backpacks to show confidence in COVID-19 vaccination. Access this order form to request the FREE buttons and stickers for your outreach efforts while supplies last.
Buttons and stickers remain available for sale to those not eligible for the CDC-funded supplies.
HHS’s We Can Do This campaign, supported by the Made to Save Coalition, encourages us to protect all eligible people. Multiple initiatives make it easier to get vaccinated against COVID-19, advancing equity, doing more vaccine education, and encouraging vaccination of everyone in your community.
 
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It’s not too early to prepare for flu season! Stock up on IAC’s “FLU VACCINE” buttons and stickers for staff and patients.
MMWR COVID-19 Recap: Vaccination coverage at eight health care organizations, vaccine administration estimates in North Carolina, vaccine acceptability among adolescents and parents of adolescents, and Delta variant outbreak at gymnastics facility
CDC recently published several articles first distributed as MMWR Early Releases:
- COVID-19 Vaccine Administration, by Race and Ethnicity—North Carolina, December 14, 2020–April 6, 2021 (MMWR, July 16, HTML format or PDF format)
- COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage among Insured Persons Aged ≥16 Years, by Race/Ethnicity and Other Selected Characteristics—Eight Integrated Health Care Organizations, United States, December 14, 2020–May 15, 2021 (MMWR, July 16, HTML format or PDF format)
- Acceptability of Adolescent COVID-19 Vaccination among Adolescents and Parents of Adolescents—United States, April 15–23, 2021 (MMWR, July 16, HTML format or PDF format)
- SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant COVID-19 Outbreak Associated with a Gymnastics Facility—Oklahoma, April–May 2021 (MMWR, July 16, HTML format or PDF format)
Related Link
- MMWR gateway page provides access to MMWR Weekly, MMWR Recommendations and Reports, MMWR Surveillance Summaries, and MMWR Supplement
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Organizing a new vaccination program? Use IAC's comprehensive Vaccinating Adults: A Step-by-Step Guide—free to download by chapter or in its entirety.
Download IAC's free book on all aspects of adult immunization, to help train your team and refresh your leaders: Vaccinating Adults: A Step-by-Step Guide (Guide).
This thorough "how to" guide on adult immunization provides easy-to-use, practical information covering essential adult immunization activities. It helps vaccine providers enhance their existing adult immunization services or introduce them into any clinical setting.
In addition, the Guide is filled with hundreds of web addresses and references to help providers stay up to date on the latest immunization information, both now and in the future.
The Guide is available to download/print either by chapter or in its entirety free at www.immunize.org/guide. The downloaded version is suitable for double-sided printing. The National Vaccine Program Office and CDC both supported the development of the Guide and provided early technical review.
The Guide is a uniquely valuable resource to assist providers in increasing adult vaccination rates. Be sure to get a copy today!
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Use IAC's "Vaccines: COVID-19" web page to locate the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines
Having trouble locating the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines? Check out the many resources recently added to IAC’s popular Vaccines: COVID-19 web page. This site offers a single location to facilitate access to key resources from CDC, FDA, IAC, and other critical partners.
Recently added information on the web page includes links to:
- A guide for how to respond to COVID-19 vaccine administration errors
- CDC guidance on important clinical considerations for the use of COVID-19 vaccines, such as contraindications and precautions, coadministration with other vaccines, and considerations for vaccinating people with immunocompromising conditions
- Expanded patient education materials for all authorized COVID-19 vaccines
- CDC’s science brief, explaining the science behind its recommendations
- Clinical care considerations for myocarditis, severe allergic reactions, and thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS)
- New resources from our partners, including the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the American Pharmacists Association, and the American Rural Health Association
To locate this gateway page on Immunize.org, click on the bright yellow box in the top right corner of the page, or go to the light blue band of tabs across the top, and choose "Vaccines." You also can use the A-Z Index on Immunize.org.
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Journal Articles and Newsletters
"Assessing the Association between Social Gatherings and COVID-19 Risk Using Birthdays" published in JAMA Internal Medicine
In the June 21 issue, JAMA Internal Medicine published Assessing the Association between Social Gatherings and COVID-19 Risk Using Birthdays. The Conclusions section appears below.
We quantified the likelihood of COVID-19 infection within households associated with small social gatherings by studying changes in household COVID-19 infection rates after the presence of a birthday in a household. Using administrative health care data on 2.9 million households, with information on birthdays and COVID-19 diagnoses for each household member, we found that the presence of a birthday within a household was associated with significantly greater COVID-19 diagnosis rates in those households in the 2 weeks after birthdays.
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Upcoming Meetings
CDC announces additional ACIP meeting on July 22
CDC will convene its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Thursday, July 22, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (ET). The meeting will focus on (a) reports of Guillain-Barre' syndrome after Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and (b) clinical considerations for additional doses in immunocompromised individuals.
No registration is required to watch webcasts of live ACIP meetings or listen via telephone. Opportunities for public comment are described at the website.
Watch the virtual ACIP meeting.
Related Link
- ACIP gateway page for recordings and content from previous meetings, as well as information about future meetings
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Immunization PSAs from the Archive
In this animated 1996 PSA from the Ohio Department of Health, a narrator reminds us how vaccines help children to grow
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