Issue Number
147
March 10,
2000
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
- Gates Children's Vaccine Program and partners create website to
counter misinformation on the Internet
- Coming soon! Immunization registry conference begins
March 27
- NIAID releases "The Jordan Report 2000"
- Spanish translation of Lyme disease VIS is now available
on IAC's website
- 2000 National Adult Immunization Conference canceled
- CDC extends application deadline for Director of Immunization
Services Division at the National Immunization Program
- CDC publishes update on U.S. influenza activity,
1999-2000
- Participants sought for study on the use of varicella-zoster virus
vaccine to prevent shingles in HIV-infected children
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(1)
March 10, 2000
GATES CHILDREN'S VACCINE PROGRAM AND PARTNERS CREATE WEBSITE TO COUNTER MISINFORMATION ON THE INTERNET
The Bill and Melinda Gates Children's Vaccine Program,
the National Network for Immunization Information, the International Vaccine Institute, and the
Vaccine Page have joined forces to create the Allied Vaccine Group (AVG). AVG is a new "web ring" intended to make it easier
for patients, parents, health care providers, researchers, journalists, and policy makers to find
reliable, science-based information about vaccines and immunization on the Internet.
According to information posted on its website, AVG believes "that the benefits
of immunization far outweigh their risks," and has dedicated this web ring to
"honest disclosure of [vaccine] research results--pro and con." AVG does not
include "any site that fails to reveal sponsorship, slants the facts in any way,
or editorializes in place of reporting."
The AVG web ring can be accessed at: http://www.vaccine.org
If you have suggestions for websites to be added to the web ring, AVG requests that you send an e-mail listing
the URL for the website to: suggestions@vaccine.org
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(2)
March 10, 2000
COMING SOON! IMMUNIZATION REGISTRY CONFERENCE BEGINS MARCH 27
The 2000 Immunization Registry Conference is fast approaching! This conference will be held March 27-29,
2000, in Newport, RI. Sponsored by the National Immunization Program (NIP) of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, this conference will bring together government and private-sector
health-care partners to share their knowledge and experience about the development and utilization of immunization
registries.
Although the organizers are no longer accepting registrations via mail, those
who still wish to attend this conference can register by paying the on-site
registration fee of $150. For more information about the conference or registration, go to the conference
website at: http://www.cdc.gov/nip/registry/2000conf.htm
(link discontinued) or call Phyllis Harmon at NIP at (404) 639-8584.
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(3)
March 10, 2000
NIAID RELEASES "THE JORDAN REPORT 2000"
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has released
"The Jordan Report 2000: Accelerated Development of Vaccines," a progress report
on the state of vaccine research and development. Intended for researchers, health professionals, and policy makers,
the report highlights the triumphs of vaccine development and implementation during the past century,
as well as the promise that new technologies hold for future development.
"There is no more important goal of medical research than to prevent diseases
from occurring in the first place," NIAID director Anthony S. Fauci, MD, said
in a press release issued March 2 concerning the report. "Our commitment to developing new and better vaccines
to prevent the world's most serious infectious diseases has never been stronger, and 'The Jordan Report' is a
valuable resource for bringing scientists and policy makers up-to-date on this
important endeavor."
The 173-page document includes comprehensive reports on vaccine development for more than 50 diseases,
conveniently organized for easy reference by type and name. Each entry is introduced by a brief overview of
the disease and past research efforts to combat it, followed by a detailed description of current vaccine
research for the disease. In addition, the report includes feature articles on selected topics in vaccine
research and development, as well as appendices that list the status of vaccines in
development and trade names and licensing information for vaccines currently
distributed in the United States.
To read the complete NIAID press release on "The
Jordan Report 2000," go to: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/newsroom/jordan00.htm
To download a camera-ready copy (PDF format) of the report, go to: http://www.niaid.nih.gov/publications/jordan/
A bound copy of the report is also available at no charge from NIAID by calling (301) 496-5717, or by
writing:
Jordan Report
NIAID OCPL
Bldg. 31, Rm. 7A50
31 Center Dr., MSC 2520
Bethesda, MD 20892-2520
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March 10, 2000
SPANISH TRANSLATION OF LYME DISEASE VIS IS NOW AVAILABLE ON IAC'S WEBSITE
A Spanish-language translation of the Lyme disease Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) is now available
on the website of the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC). Graciously provided by the California Department
of Health Services, Immunization Branch, this Spanish version is translated from the
English-language Lyme disease VIS created by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
To obtain a camera-ready copy (PDF format) of this document, go to IAC's website at: http://www.immunize.org/vis/sp_lym99.pdf
This Spanish-language VIS also can be ordered from the California Department of Health Services,
Immunization Branch, by contacting Janet Yuen by e-mail at jyuen@dhs.ca.gov
or by phone at (510) 540-2065.
To obtain camera-ready copies (PDF format) of English-language or foreign-language translations
of VISs for other vaccine-preventable diseases, visit IAC's website at: http://www.immunize.org/vis/
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(5)
March 10, 2000
2000 NATIONAL ADULT IMMUNIZATION CONFERENCE CANCELED
The 2000 National Adult Immunization Conference has been canceled. The conference was originally scheduled
for March 21-22, 2000, at the Adam's Mark Hotel in St. Louis, MO.
If you have already made hotel reservations at the Adam's Mark Hotel, please
contact the hotel immediately at (314) 241-7400 to cancel your reservations.
If you have other questions concerning the conference, please contact either
Linda Horsch of Health Care Financing Administration at (214) 767-4467, or Teresa
Lucas of Casals and Associates, Inc., at (301) 428-4998 (Mon, Wed, Thurs, or Fri) or (703) 920-1234 (Tues).
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(6)
March 10, 2000
CDC EXTENDS APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR DIRECTOR OF IMMUNIZATION SERVICES DIVISION AT THE NATIONAL
IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is continuing its search for a Director for the
Immunization Services Division (ISD) of the National Immunization Program (NIP) in Atlanta, GA, and has
extended the application deadline to March 14, 2000.
This position provides leadership in delivering technical and administrative
assistance to state and local health departments and other organizations in the
implementation of immunization programs, implementing the Vaccines for Children program and
ensuring appropriate management of the federal vaccine contracts, and conducting operations research
demonstration projects designed to test different hypotheses and various interventions to
improve vaccine coverage among specific target groups.
For more information on the responsibilities of ISD, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/nip/announce/isddescript.htm
To view CDC's official employment listing for this position, go to NIP's website
at: http://www.cdc.gov/nip/announce/isddir.htm
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March 10, 2000
CDC PUBLISHES UPDATE ON U.S. INFLUENZA ACTIVITY, 1999-2000
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published an article titled "Update: Influenza Activity--United States, 1999-2000 Season" in the
March 10, 2000, issue of the MMWR. This report compares the current influenza season with the five previous seasons and
discusses the methodology of collecting influenza surveillance data.
The introduction to this MMWR article reads: "Influenza activity in the United
States increased substantially during mid-December 1999 and appears to have peaked
during the weeks ending December 25 through January 15.
Predominant viruses isolated this season have been influenza type A(H3N2) viruses, antigenically similar
to the viruses that have predominated since the 1997-98 influenza season and were well matched to this season's
vaccine."
Influenza surveillance data collected by CDC are updated weekly from October through May and summary reports are
available through CDC's automated fax information service. To access this service, call (888)
232-3299. Enter document no. 361100 and your fax number when prompted to do so.
Summary reports are also available on the Internet at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/flu/weekly.htm
To obtain the complete text version (HTML format) of this MMWR article, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4909a1.htm
HOW TO OBTAIN A FREE ELECTRONIC SUBSCRIPTION TO THE MMWR:
To obtain a free electronic subscription to the "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report" (MMWR), visit CDC's MMWR website at: http://www2.cdc.gov/mmwr
Select "Free MMWR Subscription" from the menu at the left of the screen. Once you have submitted the required
information, weekly issues of the MMWR and all new ACIP statements (published
as MMWR's "Recommendations and Reports") will arrive automatically by e-mail.
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(8)
March 10, 2000
PARTICIPANTS SOUGHT FOR STUDY ON THE USE OF VARICELLA-ZOSTER VIRUS VACCINE TO PREVENT SHINGLES IN
HIV-INFECTED CHILDREN
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is currently recruiting
participants for a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate the safety and effectiveness
of a varicella-zoster virus (VZV) vaccine. The purpose of the study is to determine whether the vaccine can help to
prevent shingles in HIV-infected children who have already had chickenpox.
For more information about this study, including patient eligibility criteria, go
to: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct/gui/c/b
and type "ACTG 391" in the "Search Clinical Trials" box.
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