National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW), April 24–30, highlights the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases and celebrates the achievements of immunization partners. Since 1994, hundreds of U.S. communities have joined together during NIIW to celebrate the crucial role vaccination plays in protecting our children, communities, and public health.

CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend that children stay on track with their well-child appointments and routine vaccinations. Completing the recommended vaccinations by age 2 years is the best way to protect young children from 15 potentially life-threatening diseases. In light of the challenges of the past 3 pandemic years, these messages are more important than ever for families to hear.



CDC makes it simple for you to participate in NIIW by using their 2023 NIIW Digital Media Toolkit to plan your activities. The toolkit includes updated English and Spanish logos, sample social media content, social graphics, and key messages. Please share your posts using the hashtag #ivax2protect.

Related Links

• CDC: National Infant Immunization Week main page
• CDC: 2023 NIIW Digital Media Toolkit main page
• Immunize.org: Parent Handouts main page

CDC continues to recommend influenza vaccination for those not yet protected as long as influenza is circulating. Keep in mind young children who still need a second dose in their first vaccination season and those who need vaccination during pregnancy.

CDC’s Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report, FluView, provides a valuable snapshot of influenza activity state by state. For week 11, ending March 18, FluView reports that 2.4% 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, 134 children died from influenza-associated causes.



Influenza Vaccination Dashboard
CDC’s Weekly Flu Vaccination Dashboard shows that for the 2022–23 season, 44.3% of adults report they already received vaccination this year. Influenza vaccination of children varies widely from state to state, ranging from 38.6% to 72.8%.

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.

Due to the ongoing low levels of influenza, this will be the last weekly IZ Express influenza update for the current season; IZ Express will continue to cover important updates from CDC as needed.

Related Links

• CDC: Weekly National Flu Vaccination Dashboard main page
• CDC: FluView main page
• CDC: Influenza (Flu) main page
• Immunize.org: free educational materials and patient handouts related to influenza
• Immunize.org: Vaccines: Influenza main page
• Immunize.org: Ask the Experts: Influenza main page

Immunize.org is pleased to renew five institutions’ Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll status, retaining their standing among 576 honorees. Each of these birthing institutions, listed below with their reported hepatitis B birth dose coverage rates in parentheses, has maintained a standard of excellence in protecting newborns from hepatitis B for at least five years.

• Central Vermont Medical Center, Berlin, VT (91%) (5 years)
• Lawrence General Hospital, Lawrence, MA (97%) (5 years)
• St. Francis Emory Healthcare, Columbus, GA (98%) (5 years)
• Starr County Memorial Hospital, Rio Grande City, TX (95%) (5 years)
• RAF Lakenheath, Brandon, England (96%) (6 years)

• Give Birth to the End of Hep B main page 
• Fact sheet: Do You Qualify for the Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll? If So, Apply Today.
• Handout on Immunize.org’s campaign: Give Birth to the End of Hep B
• Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll web page

In this week’s Spotlight, we summarize resources at Immunize.org that focus on screening checklists to help expedite safe vaccination.

Immunize.org's Screening Checklist main page links to forms relevant to a variety of vaccines, some in multiple languages.

• Front page – Patients fill out this side, simplifying assessment of vaccination needs and contraindications
• Back page – The back of each screening checklist provides detailed guidance to help healthcare personnel interpret patient answers to decide if a vaccine is contraindicated or can be given with confidence

Screening checklists are especially useful in settings where standing orders or batched orders are used, as well as in settings where the patient’s full medical record is not readily available.



Immunize.org’s main page on this topic offers nine screening checklists, including:

• Screening Checklist for Contraindications to Vaccines for Adults
• Screening Checklist for Contraindications to Vaccines for Children and Teens
• Screening Checklist for Contraindications to HPV, MenACWY, MenB, and Tdap Vaccines for Teens
• Screening Checklist for Contraindications to Inactivated Injectable Influenza Vaccination
• Screening Checklist for Contraindications to Live Attenuated Intranasal Influenza Vaccination
• Should You Be Vaccinated against Hepatitis A? (for adults)
• Should You Be Vaccinated against Hepatitis B? (for adults)
• Labor and Delivery HBsAg Administration Checklist for Birthing Mother
• CDC: COVID-19 Prevaccination Checklist

Related Links

• Immunize.org: Screening Checklist main page (showing language options)
• Immunize.org: Handouts for Patients and Staff main page

Back to top

Journalists seek out Immunize.org 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.

• AFP Fact Check: COVID-19 Vaccines Falsely Linked to Lower Life Expectancy (3/16/23)

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

• Scientific American: RSV Vaccines Are Nearly Here after Decades of False Starts (3/20/23)
• Reuters: Vaccine Makers Prep Bird Flu Shot for Humans ‘Just in Case’; Rich Nations Lock in Supplies (3/20/23)
• PBS: Dr. Fauci Visits D.C. to Battle Vaccine Hesitancy (3/21/23), a clip from the documentary, American Masters: Dr. Tony Fauci

Immunize.org recently revised its 1-page guidance for healthcare professionals titled DTaP, Tdap, and Td Catch-Up Vaccination Recommendations by Prior Vaccine History and Age. In addition to adding a QR code linking to the online version, two points were added:

• Adults and adolescents who have received Tdap, should be given Td or Tdap as their subsequent 10-year booster doses.
• Products manufactured by different companies are interchangeable.

Related Links

• Immunize.org: Handouts: Vaccine Recommendations web page
• Immunize.org: Clinic Tools: Vaccine Recommendations web page
• Immunize.org: Handouts for Patients and Staff main page, where you can sort materials by topic, vaccine, or language
• Immunize.org: Educational Materials for Patients and Staff—an alphabetical list of more than 230 ready-to-print staff educational materials and patient handouts

Immunize.org revised three standing orders templates for children and teens, adding QR codes linking to the online versions of the documents. Changes, which reflect CDC recommendations, are shown below. 

• Standing Orders for Administering Haemophilus Influenzae Type B to Children & Teens: specifies a history of severe allergy to dry natural latex as a contraindication to administration of ActHIB (Sanofi), Hiberix (GSK), or PedvaxHib (Merck)
• Standing Orders for Administering Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine to Children and Teens: risk factors of alcoholism and chronic liver disease were removed to align with the 2023 CDC Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule
• Standing Orders for Administering Rotavirus Vaccine to Infants: the minimum age to assess infants for need of vaccine is the minimum age for rotavirus vaccination, 6 weeks, to allow for assessment of infants who present for vaccination before age 2 months; also, preparation and administration instructions were added for the Rotarix fully liquid oral presentation, which does not require reconstitution

Related Links

• Immunize.org Standing Orders Templates for Administering Vaccines main page
• Immunize.org: Handouts for Patients and Staff main page, where you can sort materials by topic, vaccine, or language
• Immunize.org: Educational Materials for Patients and Staff—an alphabetical listing of more than 230 ready-to-print staff educational materials and patient handouts

Immunize.org recently reviewed and updated its popular parent handout titled Vaccinations for Preteens and Teens. Vaccines routinely administered in early childhood were flagged as “maybe needed” to account for preteens and teens who may have missed out on routine vaccinations. A QR code linking to the online version of the document was added.



Translations of this popular handout are available in seven languages.

• Spanish
• Arabic
• Chinese-Simplified
• French
• Korean
• Russian
• Vietnamese

Related Links

• Immunize.org: Handouts: Adolescent Vaccination main page
• Immunize.org: Parent Handouts main page
• Immunize.org: Handouts main page to see educational materials sorted by category
• Immunize.org: Educational Materials for Patients and Staff—an alphabetical list of more than 230 ready-to-print staff educational materials and patient handouts

Adolescent Immunization Action Week (#AIAW23) is almost here! Held April 3–7 in 2023, #AIAW23 is an annual observance urging parents, healthcare providers, and adolescents to help keep adolescents up to date on immunizations. The Unity Consortium created tools to help healthcare providers amplify messages to parents, adolescents, and young adults. Materials include ready-to-use graphics and a short article about the observance for emails, newsletters, or blogs.



On April 4, 12:00–1:00 p.m. (ET), Unity will host a webinar titled A Conversation about Vaccination with Young Advocates. During the webinar, Drs. Paul Offit and Chelsea Clinton will discuss challenges in closing the gap in adolescent vaccination and talk with teen health advocates about their needs and challenges.



Visit Unity’s AIAW campaign page for social media-ready materials you can use to draw attention to improving adolescent immunization coverage. Use the hashtag #AIAW23 to spread the word.

Immunize.org's laminated versions of the 2023 U.S. child and adolescent immunization schedule and the 2023 U.S. adult immunization schedule are in stock and shipping now. Order while supplies last. Once sold out, we will not have more until 2024.

While the schedules are available online from CDC at no cost, Immunize.org’s laminated schedules are ideal for use in any busy healthcare setting. Their tough coating can be wiped down, and they’re durable enough to stand up to a year of use.

• Length: Each schedule with appendices is 12 pages
• Size: Standard 8.5” X 11” booklet format
• Full Color: With color coding for easy reading, our laminated schedules replicate the original CDC formatting, including the essential tables and notes
• Bonus: The adult schedule includes Immunize.org’s popular 1-page handout summarizing the dose, route, and needle length recommendations for all vaccines and recipients

    

Pricing for Each Schedule
$10.00: 1 copy
$  9.50 each: 2–4 copies
$  8.50 each: 5–19 copies
$  7.50 each: 20–99 copies
$  6.00 each: 100–499 copies 
$  5.00 each: 500–999 copies
$  4.00 each: 1,000–1,999 copies
$  3.25 each: 2,000+ copies

Visit Shop Immunize.org: Laminated Schedules to view images of each page and order today!

For additional information, call 651-647-9009 or email admininfo@immunize.org.

Related Links

• Immunize.org: Laminated Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedules (0–18 years) web page
• Immunize.org: Laminated Adult Immunization Schedules (19 and older) web page
• Immunize.org: Shop Immunize.org main page 
• CDC: Immunization Schedules

CDC will host the next webinar in its Current Issues in Immunization Webinars series to provide updates on the 2023 child/adolescent and adult immunization schedules on March 29, 12:00–1:00 p.m. (ET).

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

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Comagine Health, a national, nonprofit, healthcare consulting firm, will offer a webinar titled Health Equity in Immunizations on April 27, 1:00-2:00 p.m. (ET). During this session, participants will explore the many social, geographic, and environmental factors that create challenges to vaccination access and affect underserved populations. Participants will understand how cultural and linguistic factors contribute to vaccine inequities and health disparities as they relate to vaccine uptake and hesitancy. This session also outlines concrete actions that participants can take to advance vaccine uptake and strategies to improve vaccine confidence among patients.

Webinar registration is now open.