Immunization Action Coalition is honored with “Cheers” award from the
Institute for Safe Medication Practices
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) recently released the winners of its 19
th
annual “Cheers” awards. Among the honorees is the Immunization Action
Coalition. ISMP, based in suburban Philadelphia, is the nation’s only
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization devoted entirely to medication error
prevention and safe medication use. ISMP represents more than 35 years of
experience in helping healthcare practitioners keep patients safe, and
continues to lead efforts to improve the medication use process. The
organization is known and respected worldwide as the premier resource for
impartial, timely, and accurate medication safety information.
Each year, the ISMP
“Cheers” awards celebrate individuals, organizations, nonprofit associations, companies, and agencies that have, through their actions during the previous 12 months, set a standard of excellence for others to follow in the prevention of medication errors and other adverse events. An excerpt from the
press release announcing the winners is reprinted below.
Over the course of 25 years, the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) has become the national nonprofit leader in immunization education and advocacy for healthcare professionals. Created and sustained by its unique partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), IAC plays a central role in coordinating and enabling every part of the national immunization community, working to reduce the incidence of 23 vaccine-preventable diseases by raising immunization rates and preventing vaccine errors, including omissions. IAC develops free resources, including hundreds of educational materials for healthcare providers and patients, and also maintains a website for healthcare professionals (immunize.org) and its website for the public (vaccineinformation.org). Its online publications include the weekly email information service, IAC Express
, the quarterly periodicals Needle Tips
and Vaccinate Adults
,
and the popular feature “Ask the Experts.”
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IAC updates its “Ask the Experts” web section about influenza
IAC recently reviewed and updated its "Ask the Experts" web section
featuring questions and answers from CDC experts relating to influenza
vaccination. It was updated to ensure the section provides the most up-to-date
information, including the new ACIP recommendations for the 2016–17 influenza
season.
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IAC Spotlight! IAC enrolls three new birthing institutions into its Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll; six previously honored institutions qualify for additional years' honors
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.
- Children's Regional Hospital at Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ (92%)
- Houston Northwest Medical Center, Houston, TX (100%)
- Weatherford Regional Medical Center, Weatherford, TX (95%)
The following institution is being recognized for a second year:
- Elmhurst Hospital, Elmhurst, IL (91%)
The following institutions are being recognized for a third year:
- Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, OH (96%)
- Miami Valley Hospital South, Centerville, OH (98%)
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA (92%)
- Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, IL (93%)
The following institution is being recognized for a fourth year:
- Liberty Hospital, Liberty, MO (96%)
The Honor Roll now includes 297 birthing institutions from 34 states and Puerto Rico. Eighty-six institutions have qualified for two years, 34 institutions have qualified three times, five institutions have qualified four times, and two institutions have qualified five times.
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 percent 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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CDC publishes QuickStats
article about adults over 65 years’ pneumococcal vaccination coverage
CDC published QuickStats:
Percentage of Adults Aged ≥65 Years Who Reported Ever Receiving a Pneumococcal
Vaccination, by Race/Ethnicity and Number of 10 Diagnosed Chronic
Conditions—National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2014–2015 in the November 1 issue of MMWR (page 1242). The text of the article is reprinted below without its accompanying graph.
During 2014–2015, the percentage of adults aged ≥65 years who reported ever
receiving a pneumococcal vaccination ranged from 42.6% for adults who had none
of the 10 selected diagnosed chronic conditions to 78.3% for adults with ≥4
diagnosed chronic conditions. For all racial/ethnic populations the percentage
of adults who had ever received a pneumococcal vaccination increased as the
number of reported chronic conditions increased. Regardless of the number of
selected chronic conditions, non-Hispanic white adults were more likely than
Hispanic and non-Hispanic black adults to have received the vaccination.
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November 12 was World Pneumonia Day; CDC releases related announcement
The eighth annual World Pneumonia Day was held on November 12. CDC published Announcement:
World Pneumonia Day—November 12, 2016 in the November 11 issue of MMWR (page 1241). The first paragraph is reprinted below.
November 12th marks the eighth annual World Pneumonia Day, observed to raise
awareness of pneumonia as a global public health concern for persons of all
ages and a leading infectious cause of death of children aged <5 years,
causing approximately 900,000 child deaths annually. In the United States, the
majority of the 53,000 annual pneumonia deaths occur in persons aged ≥65
years. Respiratory viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and
influenza, and Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria are among the
leading causes of pneumonia; RSV annually causes an average of 177,000
hospitalizations and 14,000 deaths in adults aged ≥65 years in the United
States. In addition, approximately 5,000 cases of Legionnaires’ disease occur
each year in the United States, a 286% increase from 2000–2014; the case
fatality rate is about 10%.
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IAC HANDOUTS
IAC posts updated handout for the public titled “Meningococcal: Questions and
Answers”
IAC recently posted an updated version of its handout for the public, Meningococcal: Questions and Answers.
Changes were made to incorporate HIV-infected people as an at-risk group
indicated for MenACWY vaccination, clarification of persistent complement
component deficiency that may also be caused by the drug Soliris (eculizumab),
and updated MenB vaccine schedules that address the use of a 2-dose series of
Trumenba (MenB, Pfizer) for routine vaccination of healthy people 16–23 years
of age.
Access all IAC's Questions and Answers handouts.
IAC's Handouts for Patients & Staff web section offers healthcare professionals and the public more than 250 FREE English-language handouts (many also available in translation), which we encourage website users to print out, copy, and distribute widely.
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IAC posts updated standing orders template for administering meningococcal B vaccine to adolescents and adults
IAC recently posted an updated version of its standing orders template for administering meningococcal B vaccine to adolescents and adults. Changes were made to incorporate the new recommendation for the use of Trumenba (MenB, Pfizer) vaccine as a 2-dose series for healthy adolescents and young adults.
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IAC posts Russian-language translation of “Clear Answers & Smart Advice About
Your Baby's Shots” by Ari Brown, MD
IAC recently posted a Russian-language translation of Clear Answers & Smart Advice About Your Baby's Shots by Ari Brown, MD. IAC thanks Health Net of California for the translation.
For your reference: English-language version.
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WORLD NEWS
CDC and WHO report on progress toward measles eradication worldwide in this week's MMWR and Weekly Epidemiological Report, respectively
CDC published
Progress Toward Regional Measles Elimination—Worldwide, 2000–2015 in the November 11 issue of MMWR
(pages 1228–33). On the same day, WHO's Weekly Epidemiological Record published a similar article titled
Progress towards regional measles elimination, worldwide, 2000–2015. An excerpt from a related WHO news release is reprinted below.
Despite a 79% worldwide decrease in measles deaths between 2000 and 2015, nearly 400 children still die from the disease every day, leading health organizations said in a report released today...
Mass measles vaccination campaigns and a global increase in routine measles vaccination coverage saved an estimated 20.3 million young lives between 2000 and 2015, according to UNICEF; WHO; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
But progress has been uneven. In 2015, about 20 million infants missed their measles shots and an estimated 134,000 children died from the disease. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan account for half of the unvaccinated infants and 75% of the measles deaths.
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Cholera vaccination campaign aimed at 820,000 people begins in Haiti
A cholera vaccination campaign in Haiti aimed at vaccinating 820,000 people affected by Hurricane Matthew began November 8. An excerpt from a United Nations News Centre press release is reprinted below.
A vaccination campaign against cholera began today in the areas of Haiti hit hard by Hurricane Matthew, with support from the United Nations and other institutions...
According to a news release
from PAHO/WHO, the decision of WHO and other members of the Global Task Force
for Cholera Control to approve the request of the Haitian Ministry of Health
(MSPP) to bring one million doses of oral vaccine against cholera is based on
the goal of reducing the burden of cholera cases on health care facilities,
and of reducing deaths in the departments of the Sud and Grand’Anse...
Some municipalities in the southwest peninsula have reported outbreaks of
cholera since the hurricane hit on October 4, “so it is important to work
together and with partners to build local capacity for clinical management of
cases in the cholera treatment centres,” [Dr. Jean-Luc Poncelot] said.
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International Vaccine Access Center releases “Pneumonia & Diarrhea Progress
Report” as part of World Pneumonia Day
For World Pneumonia Day, the International Vaccine Access Center released the 2016 Pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report: Reaching Goals Through Action and Innovation. This is the seventh annual Progress Report, but the first in the era of the Sustainable Development Goals, which follow the Millennium Development Goals that ended in 2015.
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Influenza is serious; many resources are available to help healthcare professionals vaccinate patients
Influenza vaccination is recommended for everyone six months of age and older. If you don't provide influenza vaccination in your clinic, please recommend vaccination to your patients and refer them to a clinic or pharmacy that provides vaccines or to the HealthMap Vaccine Finder to locate sites near their workplaces or homes that offer influenza vaccination services.
Following is a list of resources related to influenza disease and vaccination for healthcare professionals and the public:
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JOURNAL ARTICLES AND NEWSLETTERS
November's Parents PACK newsletter from VEC includes influenza resources for parents
Parents PACK (Possessing, Accessing, and Communicating Knowledge about vaccines) offers an electronic newsletter for parents from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The November issue features resources about influenza. Healthcare providers should check out the issue and encourage parents to subscribe to the free Parents PACK newsletter.
To find more information about their resources and subscribe to their newsletter, visit the Parents PACK web page.
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New issue of WHO's Vaccine Safety Net quarterly newsletter is now online
The World Health Organization (WHO) published the fifth edition of its quarterly Vaccine Safety Net newsletter.
This edition has a special feature about the results of the Vaccine Safety
Network member survey. Also in this edition, discover effective means for
promoting good information practices supporting vaccine safety from four of the
network's members. As for each edition, a special focus is given to one of the
VSN members: this time VSN shines the spotlight on The Vaccine Education Center
at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (VEC), a member since 2000.
The Vaccine Safety Net newsletter aims to disseminate news and information regarding the VSN, foster communication and synergy among VSN members, and promote good information practices for websites providing information about vaccine safety.
To subscribe to the VSN newsletter, send an email to listserv@listserv.who.int with the following exact text "subscribe vsn" in the body of your email message.
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EDUCATION AND TRAINING
CDC to host #PreteenVaxScene webinar titled “HPV Vaccine Schedule Change Update:
What It Means and How to Implement Today!” on November 18
Join CDC on November 18 at 10:00 a.m. (ET) for the next #PreteenVaxScene webinar
“HPV Vaccine Schedule Change Update: What It Means and How to Implement Today!”
This brief update will contain a variety of perspectives with many resources to
help providers implement this new recommendation.
Registration (required) is open now.
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CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS
2017 California Immunization Coalition Summit scheduled for April 3–4: abstracts
due by December 16
The California Immunization Coalition (CIC) Summit planning team is seeking
abstract submissions for workshop presentations at the 2017 CIC Summit on April
3–4, 2017 in Riverside, California. This annual meeting brings together a wide
range of immunization partners from throughout California and beyond to share
ideas, discuss issues, and learn from one another.
Submit your abstract online by December 16, 2016.
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ASK THE EXPERTS
Question of the Week
Several healthy adult college students from Asia (ages 24 years and older) presented to our clinic. They will be living in a residence hall. None have a record of having received meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY). Should they receive a dose of MenACWY now?
ACIP does not routinely recommend MenACWY for college students 22 years of age and older. It is recommended for previously unvaccinated first-year college students who are age 21 years and younger who are or will be living in a residence hall. However, some colleges and universities may require incoming freshmen and others to be vaccinated with MenACWY and some may also require that a dose have been given after 16 years of age.
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 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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