Issue 1184: May 26, 2015
Ask the Experts—Question of the Week: Can MMR, varicella, and hepatitis A vaccines be given to a child whose mother is hepatitis C…read more
TOP STORIES
OFFICIAL RELEASES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
FEATURED RESOURCES
JOURNAL ARTICLES AND NEWSLETTERS
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS
TOP STORIES
Reminder: May issue of Needle Tips available online
The May 2015 issue of Needle Tips is available online. This issue of Needle Tips features our lead article summarizing what’s new in ACIP recommendations in 2015, along with IAC’s "Ask the Experts" column from CDC’s medical officer Andrew T. Kroger, MD, MPH, and nurse educator Donna L. Weaver, RN, MN. You’ll also find a wide array of immunization materials that healthcare professionals can use in their practice settings, including the 2015 official recommended U.S. immunization schedules for both child/teen and adult patients.
Click on the image below to download the entire May issue (PDF) of Needle Tips.
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If you would like to receive immediate email notification whenever new issues of Needle Tips or Vaccinate Adults are released, visit IAC's subscribe page to sign up.
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New: 13th edition of CDC's "Pink Book" now available to order or download
CDC has just released the 13th edition of its book, Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (also known as "The Pink Book"). The previous edition was published in 2012. Developed by CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, this edition provides updated immunization and vaccine information to public health practitioners, healthcare providers, health educators, pharmacists, nurses, and others involved in administering vaccines. The following information is reprinted from the Public Health Foundation (PHF), the distributor of the print version of Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases.
Current, credible, and comprehensive, "The Pink Book" contains information on each vaccine-preventable disease and delivers immunization providers with the latest information on:
- Principles of vaccination
- General recommendations on immunization
- Vaccine safety
- Child/adult immunization schedules
- International vaccines/Foreign language terms
- Vaccination data and statistics
The 13th edition offers an easy-to-read format for immunization professionals to use and reference. Updates include:
- New vaccine administration guidelines
- New recommendations regarding selection of storage and temperature monitoring tools
- New recommendations for vaccine transport
- Updated information on available influenza vaccine products
- Use of Tdap in pregnancy
- Use of Tdap in persons 65 years of age or older
- Use of PCV13 and PPSV23 in adults with immunocompromising conditions
- New licensure information for varicella-zoster immune globulin
Download the "Pink Book"
Order the "Pink Book"
Email CDC with comments, questions, or suggestions about the contents of this book.
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American Academy of Pediatrics releases its Red Book: 2015 Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released the 30th edition of its Red Book: 2015 Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases. AAP's description of this resource reads:
The AAP's authoritative guide to the manifestations, etiology, epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of more than 200 childhood conditions.
The Red Book provides evidence-based guidance to practicing clinicians on pediatric infections and vaccinations based on the recommendations of the committee as well as the combined expertise of the CDC, the FDA, and hundreds of physician contributors.
The Red Book is an essential reference for pediatric infectious diseases specialists and general pediatricians, and is useful for family medicine and emergency medicine physicians as well. Public health and school health providers, medical residents, and students also will find it a high-yield source of pediatric infectious disease and vaccine information.
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Presentations from the National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit now available online
The 2015 annual meeting of the National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit (NAIIS) was held in Atlanta on May 12–14. The presentations from the sessions are now posted on the NAIIS website.
NAIIS consists of over 700 partners, representing more than 130 public and private organizations, and is dedicated to addressing and resolving adult and influenza immunization issues. If you are not a Summit member and are interested in more information, please email Dr. Litjen Tan at lj.tan@immunize.org.
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IAC Spotlight! Eleven healthcare organizations join IAC's Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll for mandatory healthcare worker vaccination
IAC urges qualifying healthcare organizations to apply for its Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll. The honor roll recognizes hospitals, medical practices, professional organizations, health departments, and government entities that have taken a stand for patient safety by implementing mandatory influenza vaccination policies for healthcare personnel. More than 500 organizations are now enrolled.
Since April 28, when IAC Express last reported on the Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll, 11 healthcare organizations have been enrolled.
Newly added healthcare organizations, hospitals, government agencies, and medical practices
- Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Lebanon, NH
- Carson Tahoe Regional Healthcare, Carson City, NM
- Catholic Medical Center, Manchester, NH
- Cottage Health, Santa Barbara, CA
- Great Plains Health, North Platte, NE
- McFarland Clinic, Ames, IA
- OU Physicians Family Medicine, Oklahoma City, OK
- Phelps County Regional Medical Center, Rolla, MO
- St. Dominic Jackson Memorial Hospital, Jackson, MS
- St. Mary Medical Center, Langhorne, PA
- Susquehanna Health Systems, Williamsport, PA
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IAC enrolls three more birthing institutions into its Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll; one previously honored institution qualifies for a second year
The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) is pleased to announce that three new institutions have been accepted into its Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll. The birthing institutions are listed below with their reported hepatitis B birth dose coverage rates in parentheses.
- Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, Elmhurst, IL (92%)
- Holton Community Hospital, Holton, KS (90%)
- Mercy Hospital Ardmore, Ardmore, OK (94%)
In addition, the following institution is being recognized for a second year:
- Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital, Nassawadox, VA (98%)
The Honor Roll now includes 197 birthing institutions from 32 states and Puerto Rico.
The Honor Roll is a key part of IAC’s major initiative urging the nation’s hospitals to Give birth to the end of Hep B. Hospitals and birthing centers are recognized for attaining high coverage rates for administering hepatitis B vaccine at birth and meeting specific additional criteria. The initiative urges qualifying healthcare organizations to apply for the Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll online.
To be included in the Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll, a birthing institution must have: (1) reported a coverage rate of 90% or greater, over a 12-month period, for administering hepatitis B vaccine before hospital discharge to all newborns, including those whose parents refuse vaccination, and (2) implemented specific written policies, procedures, and protocols to protect all newborns from hepatitis B virus infection prior to hospital discharge.
Honorees are also awarded an 8.5" x 11" color certificate suitable for framing and their acceptance is announced to IAC Express’s approximately 50,000 readers.
Please visit the Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll web page that lists these institutions and their exceptional efforts to protect infants from perinatal hepatitis B transmission.
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OFFICIAL RELEASES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention releases new strategic plan
CDC recently released the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention: Strategic Plan through 2020. The plan sets forth goals to reduce incidence, morbidity, mortality, and health disparities related to HIV, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases (including HPV), and tuberculosis.
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FEATURED RESOURCES
Vaccine Education Center develops Pinterest boards on common vaccine-related topics and concerns
The Vaccine Education Center (VEC) at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has started developing Pinterest boards around common vaccine-related topics and concerns. One of the Vaccine boards is devoted to newborn and infants, which includes age-specific resources, answers to certain questions and even information for parents of preterm babies. Another is devoted to VEC's online trivia game, Just the Vax, where users can test their knowledge about vaccines. Additional boards are planned to cover a wide range of topics including boards for specific age groups as well as vaccine safety and science.
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Now available! IAC's sturdy laminated versions of the 2015 U.S. child/teen immunization schedule and the 2015 U.S. adult immunization schedule—order a supply for your healthcare setting today!
IAC's laminated versions of the 2015 U.S. child/teen immunization schedule and the 2015 U.S. adult immunization schedule are covered with a tough, washable coating; they will stand up to a year's worth of use in every area of your healthcare setting where immunizations are given. The child and adolescent schedule has eight pages (i.e., four double-sided pages) and is folded to measure 8.5" x 11". The adult immunization schedule has six pages (i.e., three double-sided pages) and is folded to measure 8.5" x 11".
Laminated schedules are printed in color for easy reading, come complete with essential tables and footnotes, and include contraindications and precautions—a feature that will help you make an on-the-spot determination about the safety of vaccinating patients of any age.
PRICING
1–4 copies: $7.50 each
5–19 copies: $5.50 each
20–99 copies: $4.50 each
100–499 copies: $4.00 each
500–999 copies: $3.50 each
For quotes on customizing or placing orders for 1,000 copies or more, call (651) 647-9009 or email admininfo@immunize.org.
You can access specific information on both schedules, view images of both, order online, or download an order form at the Shop IAC: Laminated Schedules web page.
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IAC makes available The Vaccine Handbook: A Practical Guide for Clinicians, a.k.a. "The Purple Book," by Dr. Gary Marshall
The Vaccine Handbook: A Practical Guide for Clinicians (“The Purple Book,” 2015, 560 pages) is a uniquely comprehensive source of practical, up-to-date information for vaccine providers and educators. Its author, Gary S. Marshall, MD, has drawn together the latest vaccine science and guidance into a concise, user-friendly, practical resource for the private office, public health clinic, academic medical center, and hospital.
IAC Executive Director Deborah Wexler, MD, is enthusiastic about helping get this book circulated as widely as possible. “During more than 20 years in the field of immunization education, I have not seen a book that is so brimming with state-of-the-science vaccine information,” she states. "This book belongs in the hands of every medical student, physician-in-training, doctor, nursing student, and nurse who provides vaccines to patients.”
The Vaccine Handbook provides:
- Information on every licensed vaccine in the United States
- Rationale behind authoritative vaccine recommendations
- Contingencies encountered in everyday practice
- A chapter dedicated to addressing vaccine concerns
- Background on how vaccine policy is made
- Standards and regulations
- Office logistics, including billing procedures, and much more
About the Author
Gary Marshall, MD, is professor of pediatrics at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky, where he serves as chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases and director of the Pediatric Clinical Trials Unit. In addition to being a busy clinician, he is nationally known for his work in the areas of vaccine research, advocacy, and education.
The newly released fifth edition of this invaluable guide is now available on IAC’s website at www.immunize.org/vaccine-handbook.
The price of the handbook is $29.95 each, plus shipping charges. Discount pricing is available for more than 10 copies. Order copies for your staff or for distribution at an upcoming conference.
Quantity Discount Pricing
- 1–10 books: no discount + shipping
- 11–50 books: 5% + shipping
- 51–100 books: 10% + shipping
- 101–500 books: 15% + shipping
- 501–1000 books: 20% + shipping
For quotes on larger quantities, email admininfo@immunize.org.
Order your copy today!
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JOURNAL ARTICLES AND NEWSLETTERS
CDC reports on Tdap vaccine coverage among mothers of infants born September–December, 2011, in 17 jurisdictions
CDC published Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis Vaccination Coverage Before, During, and After Pregnancy—16 States and New York City, 2011 in the May 22 issue of MMWR (pages 522–526). The first paragraph is reprinted below.
In June 2011, the Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices (ACIP) recommended 1 dose of a tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine during pregnancy for women who had not received Tdap previously. Before 2011, Tdap was recommended for unvaccinated women either before pregnancy or postpartum. In October 2012, ACIP expanded the 2011 recommendation, advising pregnant women to be vaccinated with Tdap during each pregnancy to provide maternal antibodies for each infant. The optimal time for vaccination is at 27–36 weeks' gestation as recommended by ACIP. In response to ACIP's Tdap recommendation for pregnant women in 2011, CDC added a supplemental question to the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) survey to determine women's Tdap vaccination status before, during, or after their most recent delivery. This report describes overall and state-specific Tdap vaccination coverage around the time of pregnancy using data from 6,852 sampled women who delivered a live-born infant during September–December 2011 in one of 16 states or New York City (NYC). Among the 17 jurisdictions, the median percentage of women with live births who reported any Tdap vaccination was 55.7%, ranging from 38.2% in NYC to 76.6% in Nebraska. The median percentage who received Tdap before pregnancy was 13.9% (range=7.7%–20.1%), during pregnancy was 9.8% (range=3.8%–14.2%), and after delivery was 30.9% (range=13.6%–46.5%). The PRAMS data indicate a wide variation in Tdap vaccination coverage among demographic groups, with generally higher postpartum coverage for non-Hispanic white women, those who started prenatal care in the first trimester, and those who had private health insurance coverage. This information can be used for promoting evidence-based strategies to communicate the importance of ACIP guidelines related to Tdap vaccination coverage to women and their prenatal care providers.
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CDC and WHO report on worldwide polio eradication in this week's MMWR and Weekly Epidemiological Report, respectively
CDC published Progress Toward Polio Eradication—Worldwide, 2014–2015 in the May 22 issue of MMWR (pages 527–531). On the same day, WHO's Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER) published a similar article titled Progress towards polio eradication worldwide, 2014–2015. A summary of the MMWR article made available to the press by CDC is reprinted below.
In 2014 and 2015, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative took important steps closer to complete worldwide eradication of the virus that causes polio. Outbreaks of polio in three different geographic areas—the Horn of Africa, Central Africa, and the Middle East—were all apparently stopped in 2014. In Nigeria, until recently one of the hotbeds of poliovirus infection, there have been no new reported cases since July 2014. Polio continues to circulate in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2015, where efforts are continually challenged by conflict and security threats. Worldwide elimination of polio will require a continued commitment to strengthened surveillance to promptly detect new cases and high quality vaccination campaigns with new approaches to reach and vaccinate children in the few remaining pockets of infection.
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EDUCATION AND TRAINING
CDC's "HPV Vaccine Recommendation Update" webinar now available online
The recording of the one-hour webinar, HPV Vaccine Recommendation Update, presented by Dr. Lauri Markowitz on April 3, is now available on CDC’s YouTube Channel. Dr. Markowitz is the team leader of epidemiology research in the Division of STD Prevention, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, CDC, and the CDC lead for the HPV Vaccine Working Group of ACIP.
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CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS
West Virginia Immunization Network to hold its sixth annual Immunization Summit on June 16–17
The West Virginia Immunization Network (WIN) will hold its sixth annual Immunization Summit on June 16–17 in Charleston, WV. Scheduled keynote speakers include:
- Donna L. Weaver, RN, MN, nurse educator, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, CDC
- Kristen A. Feemster, MD, MPH, MSHP, assistant professor, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine; research director, Vaccine Education Center, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Access more details on the conference, including registration information.
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ASK THE EXPERTS
Question of the Week
Can MMR, varicella, and hepatitis A vaccines be given to a child whose mother is hepatitis C positive?
Yes. These vaccines should be administered at the routinely recommended ages. A history of hepatitis C in the mother or other household contact is not a contraindication for any vaccine.
About IAC's Question of the Week
Each week, IAC Express highlights a new, topical, or important-to-reiterate Q&A. This feature is a cooperative venture between IAC and CDC. William L. Atkinson, MD, MPH, IAC's associate director for immunization education, chooses a new Q&A to feature every week from a set of Q&As prepared by experts at CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
We hope you enjoy this new feature and find it helpful when dealing with difficult real-life scenarios in your vaccination practice. Please encourage your healthcare professional colleagues to sign up to receive IAC Express at www.immunize.org/subscribe.
If you have a question for the CDC immunization experts, you can email them directly at nipinfo@cdc.gov. There is no charge for this service.
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