- Virtual: Moderna offers five-part webinar series, High-Risk Populations – Protecting Patients at High Risk of Severe COVID-19, in June
- Virtual: Watch June 21–23 ACIP meeting. Topics include RSV, polio, influenza, pneumococcal, dengue, chikungunya, mpox, meningococcal, and COVID-19 vaccines.
Immunize.org makes important updates to its “Ask the Experts: COVID-19” web page
Immunize.org updated its popular Ask the Experts: COVID-19 web page to reflect CDC policy changes through April 2023 and connect you to the supporting CDC resources published in May. This extensive set of clinical questions and answers features CDC vaccination recommendations, clinical considerations, and web links to CDC resources.
Content related to COVID-19 vaccines no longer in use has been removed. Questions and answers reflect the current use of bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and the recommendation for a single dose of bivalent mRNA vaccine for most people, even if previously unvaccinated.
Immunize.org’s Ask the Experts main page leads you to 30 web pages on various topics with more than 1,200 common or challenging questions and answers about vaccines and their administration. Immunize.org’s team of experts includes Kelly L. Moore, MD, MPH (team lead), Carolyn B. Bridges, MD, FACP, and Iyabode Beysolow, MD, MPH.
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Close the gap! Back-to-school vaccine catch-up programs should start now, and continue all summer long. The most important way you can respond to pandemic-related declines in routine vaccination is to support and encourage back-to-school routine vaccination catch-up campaigns this summer.
CDC data show that kindergarten vaccination coverage steadily declined for all vaccines over the past two school years from 95% to 93% nationally and by as much as 10% in some jurisdictions. This is the lowest kindergarten routine vaccination coverage nationally in the last decade. In 2022, several communities experienced measles outbreaks where children were hospitalized. Another community reported a case of paralytic polio in an unvaccinated person. These events underscore that too many under-and unvaccinated children are at risk for serious illness.
You can act now to address this critical gap among children in your practice and your communications. Look to IZ Express to find out when CDC shares additional information on its 2023 back-to-school campaign and communication assets to support your work.
Check out our latest Ask the Experts video on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Follow us and share our posts featuring Ask the Experts and our clinical resources. Immunize.org's social media program highlights our educational resources for today's vaccinators. Our latest short video, “What should be done if a patient scheduled for vaccination is exposed to COVID-19 or is isolated for suspected or confirmed infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19?” is available now on our YouTube channel, along with our full collection of Ask the Experts videos. Our social media channels now feature our most popular printable resources and Ask the Experts questions and answers, as well as announcements important to frontline vaccinators.
Like, follow, and share Immunize.org’s social media accounts and encourage colleagues and others interested in vaccination to do likewise:
Immunize.org's Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll for mandatory healthcare worker vaccination now features 1,330 organizations, including 30 new facilities
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 1,330 organizations enrolled. Since May 10, 2023, Immunize.org welcomed 30 additional healthcare organizations.
- Bon Secours Health Center at Harbour View, Suffolk, VA
- Bon Secours Home Care, St. Petersburg, FL
- Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital, Newport News, VA
- Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center, Portsmouth, VA
- Bon Secours Memorial Regional Medical Center, Mechanicville, VA
- Bon Secours Mercy Health, Cincinnati, OH
- Bon Secours Rappahannock General Hospital, Kilmarnock, VA
- Bon Secours Richmond Community Hospital, Richmond, VA
- Bon Secours Southampton Medical Center, Franklin, VA
- Bon Secours Southern Virginia Medical Center, Emporia, VA
- Bon Secours St. Francis Downtown, Greenville, SC
- Bon Secours St. Francis Eastside, Greenville, SC
- Bon Secours St. Francis Medical Center, Midlothian, VA
- Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital, Richmond, VA
- Mercy Health Allen Hospital, Lorain, OH
- Mercy Health Anderson, Cincinnati, OH
- Mercy Health Defiance, Defiance, OH
- Mercy Health Life Flight Network, Toledo, OH
- Mercy Health Lorain Hospital, Lorain, OH
- Mercy Health Marcum and Wallace Hospital, Irvine, KY
- Mercy Health Perrysburg Hospital, Perrysburg, OH
- Mercy Health St. Anne’s Hospital, Toledo, OH
- Mercy Health St. Charles Hospital, Toledo, OH
- Mercy Health St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital, Boardman, OH
- Mercy Health St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital, Youngstown, OH
- Mercy Health St. Joseph Warren Hospital, Warren, OH
- Mercy Health St. Rita’s Medical Center, Lima, OH
- Mercy Health St. Vincent’s Hospital, Toledo, OH
- Mercy Health Tiffin, Tiffin, OH
- Mercy Health Willard, Willard, Ohio
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 grouped by age cohorts 
In this week's Spotlight, we summarize resources at Immunize.org that focus on specific vaccine products.
Our CDC Schedules main page provides printable PDFs of the recommended immunization schedules for children and adolescents and for adults.
Our Schedules for Patients main page contains links to informational sheets on vaccines recommended for people with varying needs based on their age or underlying medical conditions.
Within our Handouts: Topic Index, we feature:
Journalists interview Immunize.org experts 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 recent citation.
These recent articles convey the potential risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and the importance of vaccination.
Immunize.org Pages and Handouts
Immunize.org updates its “Ask the Experts” web pages on scheduling vaccines, documenting vaccination, and rotavirus vaccine
Immunize.org recently reviewed and updated three of its popular Ask the Experts web pages. Although updates do not reflect any significant changes in policy, links were updated and minor adjustments and updates were made.
This extensive set of clinical questions and answers features CDC vaccination recommendations, clinical considerations, and web links to CDC resources. Changes include updated links and COVID-19 references.
Immunize.org’s Ask the Experts main page leads you to 30 web pages on various topics with more than 1,200 common or challenging questions and answers about vaccines and their administration. Immunize.org’s team of experts includes Kelly L. Moore, MD, MPH (team lead), Carolyn B. Bridges, MD, FACP, and Iyabode Beysolow, MD, MPH.
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Immunize.org updates “Before You Vaccinate Adults, Consider Their ‘H-A-L-O’!” Immunize.org recently updated its resource for healthcare professionals titled Before You Vaccinate Adults, Consider Their “H-A-L-O”!
H-A-L-O refers to four factors:
- Health condition
- Age
- Lifestyle
- Occupation
Changes were made to incorporate the newest ACIP recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines and revised pneumococcal polysaccharide (PPSV23) recommendations.
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Immunize.org updates nine patient handouts promoting vaccinations for adults Immunize.org recently updated its series of one-sheet vaccination schedule guides for adults generally, men who have sex with men, and for adults with any of six chronic health conditions.
Where relevant, guides now also incorporate the latest recommendations for:
- Hepatitis B screening for all adults
- Universal hepatitis B catch-up vaccination for all adults younger than age 60
The revised handouts for adults are listed below.
The revised guides for adults with specific risk factors are listed below. Please take a moment to be sure you use the most current versions in your practice.
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Immunize.org updates its "Vaccine Timeline" web page Immunize.org's Vaccine Timeline main page was updated to include new events related to vaccines and immunization. The chart on the main page displays many of the vaccine- and immunization-related events that have occurred since Edward Jenner's first smallpox vaccination in 1796. This list is by no means exhaustive.
If you would like to suggest an event to add, contact us at admin@immunize.org.
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.
“Safety Monitoring of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Third Doses among Children Aged 6 Months–5 Years—United States, June 17, 2022–May 7, 2023” published in MMWR
CDC published Safety Monitoring of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Third Doses among Children Aged 6 Months–5 Years—United States, June 17, 2022–May 7, 2023 on June 9 in MMWR. A portion of the summary appears below.
All children aged 6 months–5 years are recommended to receive ≥1 bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccine dose; approximately 550,000 children in these age groups have received a third monovalent or bivalent mRNA vaccine dose. . . .
In v-safe, 38% of children had no reported reactions after a third dose; most reported reactions were mild and transient. Vaccination errors [e.g., incorrect product formulation administered, inappropriate schedule of product administration, expired product administered, incorrect dose administered] accounted for 78% of events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. . . .
Findings after receipt of a third mRNA vaccine dose among young children were similar to those described after receipt of 1 and 2 doses; no new safety concerns were identified.
Access the MMWR article in HTML or PDF.
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“Progress toward Equitable Mpox Vaccination Coverage: A Shortfall Analysis—United States, May 2022–April 2023” published in MMWRCDC published Progress toward Equitable Mpox Vaccination Coverage: A Shortfall Analysis—United States, May 2022–April 2023 on June 9 in MMWR. A portion of the summary appears below.
Vaccination efforts during the 2022 U.S. monkeypox (mpox) outbreak focused on populations at elevated risk for acquiring mpox. . . .
As of April 2023, two thirds (approximately 66.0%) of mpox vaccine–eligible persons remained unvaccinated. The shortfall (difference between 100% coverage and reported first-dose coverage) was largest among Black or African American (Black) persons (77.9%). The largest monthly decreases in overall shortfall were in August (17.7%) and September (8.5%). However, during these months, smaller shortfall reductions were achieved among Black persons (12.2% and 4.9%, respectively). . . .
Vaccination coverage among racial and ethnic minority groups with the largest shortfalls needs to increase substantially to reduce disparities in vaccination coverage and increase health equity.
Access the MMWR article in HTML or PDF.
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"Surveillance to Track Progress toward Poliomyelitis Eradication—Worldwide, 2021–2022" published in MMWR
CDC published Surveillance to Track Progress toward Poliomyelitis Eradication—Worldwide, 2021–2022 on June 9 in MMWR. A portion of the summary appears below.
The primary means for detecting poliovirus is through acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance, which is supplemented by environmental surveillance of sewage samples. . . .
During 2021–2022, among 34 priority countries experiencing or at high risk for poliovirus transmission, 26 (76.5%) met national AFP surveillance indicator targets, and the number of environmental surveillance sites increased by 31%. However, substantial national and subnational AFP surveillance gaps persist. . . .
Maintaining high-quality surveillance is critical to achieving the goal of global polio eradication. Monitoring surveillance indicators is important to identify gaps and guide surveillance-strengthening activities, particularly in countries at high risk for poliovirus circulation.
Access the MMWR article in HTML or PDF.
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“Chikungunya Outbreak—Paraguay, 2022–2023” published in MMWRCDC published Chikungunya Outbreak—Paraguay, 2022–2023 on June 9 in MMWR. A portion of the article appears below.
Humans are the primary reservoir during epidemics and can transport the virus to new areas; cases in travelers returning from Paraguay have been reported in several countries. If an infected person is bitten by a mosquito vector at their destination, a risk for local transmission exists. During 2022–2023, in the Americas, increases in chikungunya cases and spread outside historical transmission areas (e.g., Uruguay and parts of Argentina) have occurred. Strengthened surveillance and preparedness are crucial. Although no vaccine is currently licensed, several are in the late stages of development and could have a role in reducing cases and deaths in future outbreaks.
Access the MMWR article in HTML or PDF.
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Virtual: Moderna offers five-part webinar series, High-Risk Populations – Protecting Patients at High Risk of Severe COVID-19, in June
Moderna is offering a free, five-part webinar series, High-Risk Populations – Protecting Patients at High-Risk of Severe COVID-19, in June. This five-part webinar series will discuss the continued risks and consequences of COVID-19 infections in high-risk populations. Each event will focus on a different high-risk population. Courses include:
- TOMORROW: June 15 at 1:00 p.m. (ET): "Immunocompromised Patients"
- June 22 at 1:00 p.m. (ET): "Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases"
- June 28 at 1:30 p.m. (ET): "Patients with Respiratory Diseases"
Registration is required for each event separately.
Register for the free webinars.
Virtual: Watch June 21–23 ACIP meeting. Topics include RSV, polio, influenza, pneumococcal, dengue, chikungunya, mpox, meningococcal, and COVID-19 vaccines. CDC will convene an extended, 3-day meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), June 21–23, starting at 8:00 a.m. (ET). ACIP will discuss vaccination recommendations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), polio, influenza, pneumococcal, dengue, chikungunya, mpox, meningococcal, and COVID-19 vaccines.
No registration is required to watch webcasts of live ACIP meetings or listen via telephone. Opportunities for public comment are described on the website.
View the agenda.
Related Links
- ACIP main page for access to webcast, agendas
- ACIP: Meeting Information for presentation slides, content from previous meetings, and information about future meetings
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