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Stay up to date: Immunize.org expands its "Checklist of Current Versions of U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Guidance and Clinic Support Tools" Immunize.org expanded its job aid, Checklist of Current Versions of U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Guidance and Clinic Support Tools, on February 5, to help you keep up with changes to COVID-19 vaccine guidance and resources.
This expanded version now includes:
- Links to translations of COVID vaccine fact sheets for recipients and caregivers
- New storage and handling sections providing links to expiration-date tools, storage-temperature logs, and guidance for transporting vaccine to off-site locations
Immunize.org updates this checklist at least monthly, prominently indicating when it was last updated at the top of the page.
All COVID-19 vaccination providers should review this checklist each time it is revised to be sure practices stay up to date.
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February is American Heart Month; a heart-healthy lifestyle includes vaccination
February is American Heart Month, a time for people to focus on their cardiovascular health. Every year, thousands of people with heart disease and those who suffered stroke are at increased risk of serious complications from vaccine-preventable infections. Vaccines of particular importance for people with heart disease include:
- COVID-19
- Influenza
- Pneumococcal
- Zoster
Visit CDC's American Heart Month Toolkits 2023 main page for resources you can use to help encourage people to reduce risks for cardiovascular disease.
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February is National Cancer Prevention Month; arm your patients with HPV and hepatitis B vaccinations to prevent cancer February is National Cancer Prevention Month, a great time to spread the word about the link between certain vaccine-preventable viral infections and cancer.
Each year in the United States, almost 36,000 men and women are diagnosed with cancers associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. HPV vaccination is recommended for everyone age 26 years and younger, and may be considered for adults through age 45.
Chronic hepatitis B virus infection is a leading cause of liver cancer worldwide. CDC now recommends catch-up hepatitis B vaccination of every adult through age 59 years and anyone age 60 or older at increased risk or who wishes to be protected.
Vaccination is the simplest, best way to prevent the infections that cause these cancers. Make sure to promote vaccination according to the recommended vaccination schedules.
View American Cancer Society's Cancer Risk, Prevention, and Screening main page for more.
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Influenza activity is trending downward across the country; keep vaccinating Keep encouraging influenza vaccination for those not yet protected. Although this influenza season peaked early, a late season resurgence is possible.
CDC’s Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report, FluView, provides a valuable snapshot of influenza activity state by state. For week 4, ending January 28, FluView reports that 2.6% of outpatient visits nationwide were due to respiratory illness that included fever plus a cough or sore throat (i.e., influenza-like illness [ILI]). The national baseline is 2.5%. Multiple respiratory viruses are co-circulating; the relative contribution of influenza virus infection to ILI varies by location. So far this season, 97 children have died from influenza-associated causes.
Influenza Vaccination Dashboard
CDC’s Weekly Flu Vaccination Dashboard shows that vaccination coverage for all children age 6 months to age 17 years is similar to the past two seasons but is 6.3 percentage points lower than in January 2020, during the last pre-pandemic season (51.1% compared with 57.4%).
CDC recommends everyone age 6 months and older get annual influenza vaccination. “Vaccines.gov” offers VaccineFinder, a service of Boston Children’s Hospital, to help people find influenza and COVID-19 vaccines for any age group. To be listed as a provider by VaccineFinder, see the information at this website.
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Immunize.org's Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll for mandatory healthcare worker vaccination now features 1,298 organizations, including one new facility Immunize.org's Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll recognizes facilities that take a stand for patient safety by implementing policies for mandatory healthcare personnel influenza vaccination. There are now 1,298 organizations enrolled. Since December 7, 2022, Immunize.org welcomed one additional healthcare organization.
- Greene County Medical Center, Jefferson, IA
Eligibility:
- Eligible organizations: Hospitals, long-term care facilities, medical practices, pharmacies, professional organizations, health departments, and other government entities
- Requirements:
- Your policy must require influenza vaccination for all staff
- The application must describe measures to prevent transmission of influenza from unvaccinated personnel to patients (e.g., masking for the entire work shift)
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Spotlight: Immunize.org resources focused on enhancing clinic and practice operations
In this week's Spotlight, we summarize resources at Immunize.org that focus on enhancing clinic and practice operations.
The Topic index on the Clinic Tools main page is a one-stop source of practical information for vaccine providers. You will find "how-to" information about vaccinating in any setting.
Clinic Tools: Storage and Handling main page offers printable temperature logs to monitor freezers and refrigerators. This site also includes a troubleshooting record to document the occurrence and resolution of questionable or unacceptable vaccine storage events.
Clinic Tools: Documenting Vaccination main page offers forms to document vaccination or declination of vaccination, as well as various forms and checklists useful to healthcare personnel.
Key Vaccination Resources for Healthcare Professionals is a 5-page annotated list of resources for people who vaccinate or oversee vaccination clinics. The document lists foundational content with which every vaccinator should be familiar, supplemental content useful after completing foundational training, and additional tools to help providers grow in vaccination expertise.
Vaccinating Adults: A Step-by-Step Guide, a free downloadable book, is a "how to" guide that provides easy-to-use, practical information covering essential adult vaccination activities.
These recent articles convey the potential risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and the importance of vaccination.
Immunize.org Pages and Handouts
Immunize.org updates handout titled “Hepatitis B and Healthcare Personnel” Immunize.org updated its handout titled Hepatitis B and Healthcare Personnel to incorporate a new option for hepatitis B vaccination (PreHevbrio by VBI) and add a QR code linking to the online version.
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Immunize.org updates " Hepatitis B: Questions and Answers"
Immunize.org revised Hepatitis B: Questions and Answers to incorporate information on the burden of hepatitis B cases and use of PreHevbrio vaccine (VBI Vaccines). A question was added to address the fact that screening for hepatitis B infection or immunity in adults is not required before vaccination. A QR code linking to the online version of the document was added.
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Immunize.org updates two handouts for pneumococcal vaccines used in children and teens Immunize.org revised two handouts for pneumococcal vaccination in both children and teens. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 15-valent (PCV15) is now included as an option. PCV15 can be used interchangeably with PCV13 for children. QR codes linking to the online versions of the document were added. Links and additional changes are shown below.
 
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Immunize.org updates " Standing Orders for Administering Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Acellular Pertussis (DTaP) Vaccine to Children Younger than Age 7 Years"
Immunize.org revised Standing Orders for Administering Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Acellular Pertussis (DTaP) Vaccine to Children Younger than Age 7 Years to include a QR code linking to the online version of the document.
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Featured Resources
AAP and FrameWorks Institute publish “Reframing the Conversation about Child and Adolescent Vaccinations,” with recommendations for communicating American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and FrameWorks Institute released Reframing the Conversation about Child and Adolescent Vaccinations in January 2023. This strategic brief includes five evidence-based recommendations for communicating about vaccinations:
- Talk about the benefits of vaccination for the common good
- Talk about improving vaccination access as a preventive public health measure
- Focus on how vaccines benefit children’s and adolescents’ long-term health and wellbeing
- Use a computer updates metaphor to explain how the immune system improves its performance through vaccination
- Use a literacy metaphor to explain how the immune system learns how to respond to viruses through vaccination
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Order Immunize.org’s child, adult, and lifetime immunization record cards—wallet-sized, designed to last!
Immunize.org's personal immunization record cards, printed on rip-proof, smudge-proof, water-proof paper, are designed to last a lifetime. They fit in a wallet when folded. The record cards are for you to give to your patients as a permanent personal vaccination record and are sold in boxes of 250.
Make bulk purchases and receive quantity discounts. For quotes on larger quantities or customizing, or to request sample cards, call 651-647-9009 or email admininfo@immunize.org.
Notable Publications
“What Happens When COVID-19 Emergency Declarations End? Implications for Coverage, Costs, and Access” published by Kaiser Family Foundation On January 31, Kaiser Family Foundation published What Happens When COVID-19 Emergency Declarations End? Implications for Coverage, Costs, and Access.
This brief reports that the Biden administration announced that the COVID-19 public health emergency declarations will end on May 11. The brief provides an overview of the major health-related COVID-19 federal emergency declarations that have been made since early on in the pandemic and summarizes the flexibilities triggered by each.
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MMWR Recap: Articles regarding COVID-19 infection and vaccination
CDC recently published three articles first distributed in MMWR Early Release.
- "Spike Gene Target as Amplification in a Diagnostic Assay as a Marker for Public Health Monitoring of Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants—United States, November 2021–January 2023" (MMWR, February 3, HTML or PDF)
- "Early Estimates of Bivalent mRNA Booster Dose Vaccine Effectiveness in Preventing Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection Attributable to Omicron BA.5- and XBB/XBB.1.5-Related Sublineages among Immunocompetent Adults—Increasing Community Access to Testing Program, United States, December 2022–January 2023" (MMWR, February 3, HTML or PDF)
- "Information for Persons Who Are Immunocompromised regarding Prevention and Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 Infections in the Context of Currently Circulating Omicron Sublineages—United States, January 2023" (MMWR, February 3, HTML or PDF)
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Upcoming Events
Virtual: “Improving the Vaccination Experience: Reducing Pain and Anxiety for Children and Adults”; Join Immunize.org February 28 for our webinar Anxiety about needles and injections affects as many as 2 out of 3 children and 1 out of 4 adults. This anxiety can contribute to dreading, delaying, or avoiding vaccinations, even when the importance of preventing illness is understood. Good news: there are safe, effective, and practical steps that vaccinators, vaccine recipients, and caregivers can take to reduce vaccination-related pain and anxiety. Creating a less stressful vaccination experience increases confidence in vaccination.
Attend this live, 1-hour webinar hosted by Immunize.org, Improving the Vaccination Experience: Reducing Pain and Anxiety for Children and Adults at 1:00 p.m. (ET) on February 28 to learn more about the principles behind vaccination pain and anxiety. Learn simple, evidence-based strategies to reduce apprehension. These strategies were developed by the experts from HELP Eliminate Pain in Kids and Adults. Their work was used by the World Health Organization (WHO), Public Health Canada, and others to develop guidelines for reducing vaccination pain.
The panelists will be:
- Anna Taddio, BScPhm, PhD; Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto; Senior Associate Scientist, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto, Ontario
- Kelly L. Moore, MD, MPH; President and CEO, Immunize.org
- Lucie Marisa Bucci, MA; Director, Policy and Government Relations, Society for Infodemic Management (SIM), Québec, Québec
- Sharon Humiston, MD, MPH; Director for Research, Immunize.org
Following the presentation, ample time is reserved for your questions.
Register now to be sure you don’t miss this important session to help you make vaccination a more positive experience for everyone.
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