Issue 1335: November 15, 2017
Ask the Experts—Question of the Week: Are there recommendations for meningococcal ACWY vaccination for people who reside . . . read more
TOP STORIES
FEATURED RESOURCES
JOURNAL ARTICLES AND NEWSLETTERS
CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS
TOP STORIES
IAC releases newly updated 142-page book, Vaccinating Adults: A Step-by-Step Guide—available for purchase or free download
The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) is delighted to announce the publication of its new book, Vaccinating Adults: A Step-by-Step Guide (Guide).
This completely updated guide on adult immunization (originally published in 2004) provides easy-to-use, practical information covering important “how to” activities to help providers enhance their existing adult immunization services or introduce them into any clinical setting, including:
- setting up for vaccination services,
- storing and handling vaccines,
- deciding which people should receive which vaccines,
- administering vaccines,
- documenting vaccinations (including legal issues), and
- understanding financial considerations and billing information.
In addition, the Guide is filled with hundreds of web addresses and references to help providers stay up to date on the latest immunization information, both now and in the future.
Two options are available to obtain a copy of the updated Guide:
- Purchase a copy
A limited number of printed editions of this 142-page book are available for purchase at www.immunize.org/shop. The Guide’s lie-flat binding and 10 tabbed sections make it easy to locate the information being sought. Purchased copies are delivered in a box that includes Immunization Techniques: Best Practices with Infants, Children, and Adults, a 25-minute training DVD developed by the California Department of Public Health. Also included are several selected IAC print materials, such as the "Skills Checklist for Vaccine Administration," an assessment tool to assist in evaluating the skill level of staff who administer vaccines.
- Download for free and print it yourself
The entire Guide is available to download/print free of charge at www.immunize.org/guide. The downloaded version is suitable for double-sided printing. Options are available online to download the entire book or selected chapters.
The development of the Guide was supported by the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Expert staff from both agencies also provided early technical review of the content.
The Guide is a uniquely valuable resource to assist providers in increasing adult immunization rates. Be sure to get a copy today!
Related Links
Back to top
Reminder! Final issues of Needle Tips and Vaccinate Adults are available online
The final issues of Needle Tips and Vaccinate Adults are now available online.
Needle Tips
After publishing 61 issues since 1994, IAC has placed the final edition (November 2017) of Needle Tips online.
The lead story, "Thoughts on the final issue of Needle Tips" by Dr. Deborah Wexler, reviews the 23-year history of Needle Tips—how it began, how it grew over the years, and what’s next.
The final issue also features the highly popular "Ask the Experts" column, focused on influenza, with questions answered by experts from CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
You'll also find a new patient handout for 16-year-olds—"You're 16 . . . we recommend these vaccines for you" from IAC and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine.
Click on the image below to download the entire November issue of Needle Tips (19-page, 8.58 MB PDF).
Access the Needle Tips Table of Contents (HTML) to download individual sections or pages.
Vaccinate Adults
After publishing 52 issues since 1997, IAC has now placed the final edition (November 2017) of Vaccinate Adults online.
The lead story, "20 Years Later—the Final Issue of Vaccinate Adults" by Dr. Deborah Wexler, reviews the 20-year history of Vaccinate Adults—how it began, how it grew over the years, and what’s next.
The final issue also features the highly popular "Ask the Experts" column, focused on influenza, with questions answered by experts from CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
You'll also find one-page CDC-reviewed patient handouts for adults and pregnant women, newly translated in seven languages.
Click on the image below to download the entire November issue of Vaccinate Adults (15-page, 7.8 MB PDF).
For the future, to be informed when new or revised IAC pieces, ACIP recommendations, VISs and translations, educational opportunities, and other resources are available, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter, IAC Express.
Related Links
Back to top
FDA licenses Heplisav-B, the new hepatitis B vaccine from Dynavax, for use in adults age 18 and older
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has licensed Heplisav-B (Dynavax), the new hepatitis B vaccine for use in adults age 18 and older. This is a
2-dose vaccine for the prevention of hepatitis B infection in adults. News of its licensing was announced on November 9. The FDA approval letter and the package insert are both available on the FDA website.
Related Links
Back to top
IAC Spotlight! IAC’s Immunization Coalitions Network website is the “go-to” place for information on immunization coalitions in U.S.
In 2016, IAC launched a new website for the Immunization Coalitions Network at www.immunizationcoalitions.org. The site is intended to be a one-stop shop for learning about more than 100 immunization coalitions in the U.S.—their locations, missions, activities—and about how to engage with them. The website is fully searchable by coalition name and state.
The website promotes the activities of immunization coalitions, offers resources of importance to the network, and provides a searchable online database of local, state, regional, and national immunization coalitions. Supporters of immunization can find contacts, resources, ideas, and volunteer opportunities.
Visit this Immunization Coalitions Network website to learn about immunization coalitions.
Back to top
Families Fighting Flu launches online toolkit, “Do You Know the Flu?,” with resources for healthcare professionals
Families Fighting Flu has launched an online toolkit, “Do You Know the Flu?,” with resources for pediatric healthcare professionals to inform families about flu and increase flu vaccinations. To create this comprehensive toolkit, Families Fighting Flu partnered with the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and with HealthyWomen. The e-toolkit contents include:
- Responses to tough questions about the flu and flu vaccine
- Perspectives from a pediatric nurse practitioner
- Real stories of families affected by the flu
- Resources for parents
View the downloadable 17-page toolkit.
Related Link
Back to top
CDC’s Public Health Matters blog posts “Everyone can be a flu vaccine advocate!”
CDC’s Public Health Matters blog recently posted an entry titled “Everyone can be a flu vaccine advocate!” This post encourages healthcare providers in particular to use the "SHARE" strategy for making a strong flu vaccine recommendation to patients:
- S—SHARE the reasons why the influenza vaccine is right for the patient given his or her age, health status, lifestyle, occupation, or other risk factors.
- H—HIGHLIGHT positive experiences with influenza vaccines (personal or in your practice), as appropriate, to reinforce the benefits and strengthen confidence in flu vaccination.
- A—ADDRESS patient questions and any concerns about the influenza vaccine, including side effects, safety, and vaccine effectiveness in plain and understandable language.
- R—REMIND patients that influenza vaccines protect them and their loved ones from serious flu illness and flu-related complications.
- E—EXPLAIN the potential costs of getting the flu, including serious health effects, time lost (such as missing work or family obligations), and financial costs.
Read the complete post: “Everyone can be a flu vaccine advocate!”
Related Link
Back to top
Free app of The Vaccine Handbook available
A new app of The Vaccine Handbook is available from the Immunization Action Coalition. The free app, which is available for Apple iPhones and iPads only, contains the complete 2017 (6th) edition of The Vaccine Handbook (“The Purple Book”), by Dr. Gary Marshall, professor of pediatrics and chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Louisville. The app is fully searchable, with functionality that includes bookmarking, highlighting, user annotation, and links to important vaccination resources.
The free app may be found by searching the iTunes App Store for “The Vaccine Handbook App” or clicking on the following link:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-vaccine-handbook-app/id1043246009?ls=1&mt=8.
Related Links
Back to top
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:
Back to top
JOURNAL ARTICLES AND NEWSLETTERS
Study published in Pediatrics finds sharing vaccine information through social media during pregnancy enhances infant vaccination rates
A study published in the November issue of Pediatrics, Web-based Social Media Intervention to Increase Vaccine Acceptance: A Randomized Controlled Trial, by J.M. Glanz, et. al., found that sharing vaccine information through social media during pregnancy enhances infant vaccination rates. An excerpt from the abstract follows:
BACKGROUND: Interventions to address vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccine acceptance are needed. This study sought to determine if a Web-based, social media intervention increases early childhood immunization.
METHODS: A 3-arm, randomized controlled trial was conducted in Colorado from September 2013 to July 2016. Participants were pregnant women, randomly assigned (3:2:1) to a Web site with vaccine information and interactive social media components (VSM), a Web site with vaccine information (VI), or usual care (UC).Vaccination was assessed in infants of participants from birth to age 200 days. The primary outcome was days undervaccinated, measured as a continuous and dichotomous variable.
Read the complete study: Web-based Social Media Intervention to Increase Vaccine Acceptance: A Randomized Controlled Trial. (PDF)
Related Links
Back to top
CDC and WHO publish "Country Immunization Information System Assessments—Kenya, 2015 and Ghana, 2016" in this week's MMWR and Weekly Epidemiological Record, respectively
CDC published Country Immunization Information System Assessments—Kenya, 2015 and Ghana, 2016 in the November 10 issue of MMWR. On the same day, WHO's Weekly Epidemiological Record published the same article (pages 694–700). A media release of the MMWR article is reprinted below.
Countries wanting to strengthen their national immunization programs by creating data quality improvement plans now have a model, due to the new WHO and CDC method for immunization information system assessments (IISAs) which was recently used for assessments in Kenya and Ghana. The availability, quality, and use of immunization data are widely considered to be cornerstones of successful national immunization programs. In 2015 and 2016, immunization information system assessments (IISAs) were conducted in Kenya and Ghana using a new WHO and CDC assessment method designed to identify the root causes of immunization data quality problems and assist in the development of improvement plans. In Kenya, this resulted in national and county target-setting workshops, with goals of strengthening support for 17 targeted counties. In Ghana, public health officials are piloting changes to improve the managerial and supervision skills of sub-district staff. They are also incorporating data quality content into pre-professional coursework for health students and continuing education for facility staff.
Read the complete article: Country Immunization Information System Assessments—Kenya, 2015 and Ghana, 2016.
Related Links
Back to top
CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS
Reminder: 2018 National Immunization Conference abstract submission deadline is December 31
The deadline for submitting an abstract for CDC's 48th National Immunization Conference (NIC) is December 31.
The conference will be held from May 15–17, 2018, at the Hilton Hotel in Atlanta. NIC brings together more than 1,500 local, state, federal, and private-sector immunization stakeholders and partners to explore science, policy, education, and planning issues related to immunization and vaccine-preventable diseases.
This three-day conference will include the following session tracks:
- Adult Immunization
- Immunization Information Systems
- Programmatic Issues
- Health and Risk Communications
- Epidemiology and Surveillance
- Childhood/Adolescent Immunization
Access the guidelines and link for submitting an abstract for the 48th National Immunization Conference.
Related Link
Back to top
ASK THE EXPERTS
Question of the Week
Are there recommendations for meningococcal ACWY vaccination for people who reside in homeless shelters or halfway houses? In addition, can you comment on general vaccination recommendations for people who reside in homeless shelters or halfway houses?
Residence in a homeless shelter or halfway house is not in itself considered a high-risk condition for any vaccine. Recommendations for vaccinating adult residents would be the same as those for all adults on the ACIP adult immunization schedule. Residents with medical conditions identified on Table 2 of the schedule should be vaccinated according to that table.
Any residents 18 or younger should be vaccinated according to the catch-up recommendations on the ACIP child/teen immunization schedule. People age 19 through 21 years are not recommended routinely to receive MenACWY. MenACWY may be administered through age 21 years as a catch-up vaccination for those who have not received a dose after their 16th birthday.
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.
Related Links
Back to top
|
