Issue 1,598: November 3, 2021
Top Stories

Immunize.org Pages and Handouts
Vaccine Information Statements
Featured Resources
Notable Publications
Global News
Upcoming Events  
Top Stories
Watch today (November 3 at 10:00 a.m. ET): ACIP meeting on hepatitis B, orthopoxvirus, Ebola vaccines, and immunization schedules; no registration required

CDC will convene its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) today, November 3, from 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (ET). The meeting will include ACIP votes on new recommendations for adult hepatitis B, orthopoxvirus, Ebola vaccines, and the 2022 immunization schedules.



No registration is required to watch webcasts of live ACIP meetings or listen via telephone. Opportunities for public comment are described at the website.

View the agenda.

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"The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Interim Recommendations for Additional Primary and Booster Doses of COVID-19 Vaccines—United States, 2021" published in MMWR Early Release

CDC published The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Interim Recommendations for Additional Primary and Booster Doses of COVID-19 Vaccines—United States, 2021 on October 29 as an MMWR Early Release. A portion of the summary appears below.

In the United States, three COVID-19 vaccines are approved or authorized for primary vaccination against COVID-19....The [ACIP] issued recommendations for an additional primary mRNA COVID-19 vaccine dose for immunocompromised persons and a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose in eligible groups.

Access the MMWR Early Release article in HTML or PDF.

Related Link

  • MMWR's main page provides access to MMWR Weekly and its companion publications

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CDC updates interim clinical considerations for COVID-19 vaccines, including booster doses of Moderna and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccines

CDC updated their Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Approved or Authorized in the United States on October 25. This guidance provides additional information for healthcare providers and public health officials on use of COVID-19 vaccines. All healthcare professionals administering or counseling patients on COVID-19 vaccination should review all changes on the web page.

CDC summarized the October 25 changes as follows:

View the CDC’s Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Approved or Authorized in the United States web page.
 
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COVID-19 vaccination provider webinars to explain new recommendations and products

Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are offering new educational webinars open to all COVID-19 vaccination providers regarding new recommendations and products. Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) Vaccine informational materials online also have been updated. Details are listed below:  

Pfizer-BioNTech

Pfizer-BioNTech U.S. Medical Affairs is hosting a webinar titled "Immunization Site Training Sessions for All Providers on the Storage, Handling, & Administration for Current & Potential New Formulations." Webinar dates and times are as follows:

These Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine educational materials and web pages have been updated: Moderna

Moderna is offering a webinar titled "Important Updates on the mRNA-1273 50 µg Booster Dose" for vaccination providers to learn more about the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine booster dose. Webinar times and dates are as follows: These Moderna COVID-19 vaccine educational materials and web pages have been updated: Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) 

These Janssen COVID-19 vaccine educational materials and web pages have been updated:

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CDC updates orders regarding COVID-19 testing and vaccination of international travelers flying to the United States, effective November 8

On October 25, the White House issued a proclamation effective November 8 that will lift the geographic travel restrictions and replace them with restrictions on entry of noncitizens who are nonimmigrants traveling to the United States by air from any part of the world unless they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. There are some exceptions, including exceptions for children less than age 18 years.

As part of this policy change, CDC continues to require all fully vaccinated passengers to show a negative COVID-19 test performed on a specimen taken 3 days preceding their flight's departure from a foreign country traveling to the United States. For all passengers who are not fully vaccinated, the rules will tighten on November 8 to require a negative test taken no more than one day before departing to the United States. All travelers are also required to wear masks while on conveyances and at transportation hubs.


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GlaxoSmithKline recalls one lot of pediatric hepatitis B vaccine pre-filled syringes for missing label on some syringes
 
GlaxoSmithKline is voluntarily recalling one lot of pediatric Engerix-B brand hepatitis B vaccine consisting of 10 pre-filled syringes per pack from Lot CP23D (expiration date: December 2023). This lot was shipped between June and August 2021. The recall is a precautionary measure because a small number of syringes were included in the packages without a syringe label. There is no quality issue with the pre-filled syringes or the vaccine. Vaccinations administered from the affected lot are valid and do not need to be repeated.

For more information, call the GSK Response Center at 1-888-825-5249.

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Keep up with influenza this season: CDC’s FluView surveillance reports now being posted weekly

Influenza season has begun. CDC expects influenza activity, which is currently low, to increase in the coming weeks or months. CDC’s Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report, FluView, provides a valuable snapshot of influenza activity state-by-state. Visit it regularly to stay informed about influenza in your community this season.



If you don’t provide influenza vaccine at your site, please strongly recommend vaccination and refer people to sites that do vaccinate. Boston Children’s Hospital, in partnership with CDC, has developed VaccineFinder, a user-friendly website to help people of all ages find influenza, COVID-19, and other vaccines. Participating providers can now update their vaccine inventory estimates on VaccineFinder for a more accurate reporting. For questions or more information, contact vaccine@healthmap.org.

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IAC Spotlight! IAC’s “Standing Orders Templates for Administering Vaccines” main page offers templates to facilitate vaccine delivery

Simplify vaccination in your practice by using standing orders. IAC's Standing Orders Templates for Administering Vaccines main page includes 35 straightforward standing order templates that allow qualified health care professionals to assess the need for and administer vaccines to patients meeting certain criteria, such as age or underlying medical condition.

Standing orders help you increase immunization rates by enabling assessment and vaccination of the patient without the need for clinician examination or a direct order from the attending provider at the time of the interaction. Standing orders can be established for the administration of one or more specific vaccines to a broad or narrow set of patients in healthcare settings such as clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, and long-term care facilities.



Visit the Standing Orders Templates for Administering Vaccines main page on Immunize.org to view the standing orders templates.

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Journalists interview IAC experts
 
Journalists seek out IAC experts to help explain vaccines to the public and policy makers. We help the media understand and communicate the complex work vaccinators do. Here is a selection of our recent citations. Related Link

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Vaccines in the news

These recent articles convey the potential risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and the importance of vaccination.

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Correction: IAC Express # 1,597 (October 27)  

The story titled “IAC Summarizes ACIP Meeting on Pneumococcal, Zoster, and Influenza Vaccines, October 20,” summarizing the October 20 ACIP meeting, described a recent study supporting coadministration of COVID-19 vaccine and seasonal influenza vaccine and incorrectly listed the influenza vaccine in the study as Fluzone Quadrivalent (Sanofi). The vaccine in the study was Fluzone High-Dose Quadrivalent (Sanofi). The archived edition on the website has been corrected.

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Immunize.org Pages and Handouts
IAC updates four influenza-related, print-ready materials for patients and healthcare personnel

IAC recently updated four influenza-related handouts. 

   

IAC's Guide for Determining the Number of Doses of Influenza Vaccine to Give to Children Age 6 Months through 8 Years and Influenza Vaccination of People with a History of Egg Allergy were edited to remove reference to trivalent influenza vaccine. 

Don’t Take Chances with Your Family’s Health – Make Sure You All Get Vaccinated against Influenza Every Year! and Influenza: Questions and Answers were edited to provide updated data on hospitalization and deaths from influenza. Additionally, Don’t Take Chances emphasizes that people infected with influenza virus may not feel sick but still can spread influenza, even before they develop symptoms. Influenza: Q & A emphasizes the timing for people to be vaccinated, and includes information on co-administration of influenza and COVID-19 vaccines.

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Recap: These updated IAC educational materials for clinicians were released during September and October

IAC Express regularly provides readers with information about IAC’s new and updated educational materials for healthcare professionals and handouts for patients. All IAC materials are free to distribute.
 
In case you missed them during recent weeks, updates were made to these helpful materials:

IAC’s Updated Materials for Clinicians IAC’s Updated Influenza Web Page and Materials for Clinicians Related Links

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Vaccine Information Statements

Recap: These new VISs and VIS translations were released during September and October

IAC Express regularly provides readers with information about Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) and translations of VISs.
 
On October 15th, CDC released updated final versions of the Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Multi-vaccine Pediatric, and Rotavirus VISs. Translations for these new VISs are in progress and will be posted during the month of November.

During September and October, IAC posted more than 150 translations of VISs in the following languages and you can access up-to-date VIS translations on these pages: Plus, two IAC handouts related to VISs were updated: Dates of Current Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) and You Must Provide Patients with Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) – It's Federal Law!

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Featured Resources

Give thanks for COVID-19 vaccines this season! IAC offers FREE "I Got My COVID-19 Vaccine" buttons and stickers. Available in English and Spanish.

Anyone promoting COVID-19 vaccination 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 look great on lab coats, uniforms, jackets, lanyards, ID badges, or backpacks to show confidence in COVID-19 vaccination. 

Click the picture below to go directly to the order form.

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Explore the 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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Notable Publications
"Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 among Adults Hospitalized with COVID-19-Like Illness with Infection-Induced or mRNA Vaccine-Induced SARS-CoV-2 Immunity—Nine States, January–September 2021" published in MMWR Early Release

CDC published Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 among Adults Hospitalized with COVID-19-Like Illness with Infection-Induced or mRNA Vaccine-Induced SARS-CoV-2 Immunity—Nine States, January–September 2021 on October 29 as an MMWR Early Release. A portion of the summary appears below.

Previous infection with SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19 vaccination can provide immunity and protection against subsequent SARS-CoV-2 infection and illness....

Among COVID-19–like illness hospitalizations among adults aged ≥18 years whose previous infection or vaccination occurred 90–179 days earlier, the adjusted odds of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 among unvaccinated adults with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection were 5.49-fold higher than the odds among fully vaccinated recipients of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine who had no previous documented infection....

All eligible persons should be vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible, including unvaccinated persons previously infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Access the MMWR Early Release article in HTML or PDF.

Related Link

  • MMWR's main page provides access to MMWR Weekly and its companion publications

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MMWR Recap: “COVID-19 Vaccination and Non-COVID-19 Mortality Risk—Seven Integrated Health Care Organizations, United States, December 14, 2020–July 31, 2021” 

CDC recently published an article first distributed as MMWR Early Release:
  • COVID-19 Vaccination and Non-COVID-19 Mortality Risk—Seven Integrated Health Care Organizations, United States, December 14, 2020–July 31, 2021 (MMWR, October 29, HTML or PDF)
Related Link
  • MMWR main page provides access to MMWR Weekly and its companion publications

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CHOP's Vaccine Education Center publishes October issue of Vaccine Update newsletter

The Vaccine Education Center (VEC) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) publishes a monthly immunization-focused newsletter titled Vaccine Update for Providers. The October issue includes the following articles:

Additional resources, including information booklets for patients, are available in the full newsletter.

Access the sign-up form to subscribe to Vaccine Update for Providers.

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Global News
“Routine Vaccination Coverage—Worldwide, 2020” published in MMWR  

CDC published Routine Vaccination Coverage—Worldwide, 2020 on October 29 in MMWR. A summary appears below.

After stagnating from 2010–2019, global immunization coverage for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis-containing vaccine (DTP) declined in 2020 to the lowest rates recorded in over a decade, likely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Worldwide, 22.7 million children missed their third DTP dose. The number of “zero-dose” children, infants who do not receive the first DTP vaccine within the first year of life, increased by 3.5 million from 2019 to 2020. Of the 17.1 million zero-dose children, almost two-thirds (65%) lived in just 10 countries. Coverage for Haemophilus Influenzae type b, measles and rubella-containing vaccine, polio, hepatitis B, and HPV vaccines also declined. Swift and tailored strategies are needed to recover from immunization program interruptions, reach and vaccinate missed children, and prevent outbreaks of dangerous, vaccine-preventable diseases.

Access the MMWR article in HTML or PDF.

Related Link

  • MMWR's main page provides access to MMWR Weekly and its companion publications

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Upcoming Events
Today! Virtual: CDC offers "Current Issues in Immunization Webinar" on recommendations for the 2021–22 influenza season on November 3

CDC will host its Current Issues in Immunization Webinar to provide an update on recommendations for the 2021–22 influenza season today, November 3, from 12:00–1:00 p.m. (ET).

Attendance for the live webinar is limited to 1,500 registrants, so log in early to secure a "seat." If you miss the live event, you can watch the archived version once it is posted on CDC’s website.

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Virtual: Vaccine Education Center’s Current Issues in Vaccines for Providers webinar on December 8 features Dr. Paul Offit discussing COVID-19 vaccine booster doses; CE available

The Vaccine Education Center (VEC) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will present a 1-hour webinar titled Do We Need a COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Dose? beginning at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on December 8. Part of its Current Issues in Vaccines series, the webinar will feature Paul Offit, MD, director of the VEC.

Free continuing-education credits (CME, CEU, and CPE) will be available for both the live and archived events.

Register for the webinar.

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For more upcoming events, visit our Calendar of Events.

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About IAC Express
The Immunization Action Coalition welcomes redistribution of this issue of IAC Express or selected articles. When you do so, please add a note that the Immunization Action Coalition is the source of the material and provide a link to this issue.

IAC Express is supported in part by Grant No. 1NH23IP922654 from the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC. Its contents are solely the responsibility of IAC and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC.

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About IZ Express

IZ Express is supported in part by Grant No. 1NH23IP922654 from CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Its contents are solely the responsibility of Immunize.org and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC.

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ISSN 2771-8085

Editorial Information

  • Editor-in-Chief
    Kelly L. Moore, MD, MPH
  • Managing Editor
    John D. Grabenstein, RPh, PhD
  • Associate Editor
    Sharon G. Humiston, MD, MPH
  • Writer/Publication Coordinator
    Taryn Chapman, MS
    Courtnay Londo, MA
  • Style and Copy Editor
    Marian Deegan, JD
  • Web Edition Managers
    Arkady Shakhnovich
    Jermaine Royes
  • Contributing Writer
    Laurel H. Wood, MPA
  • Technical Reviewer
    Kayla Ohlde

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