Issue 1488: April 1, 2020
TOP STORIES
IAC HANDOUTS
FEATURED RESOURCES
JOURNAL ARTICLES AND NEWSLETTERS
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
TOP STORIES
Reminder: CDC released guidance on maintaining childhood immunizations during
COVID-19 pandemic
The following CDC information was posted to CDC's Resources for Clinics and Healthcare Facilities web page:
The COVID-19 pandemic is changing rapidly and continues to affect communities across the United States differently. Some of the strategies used to slow the spread of disease in communities include postponing or canceling non-urgent elective procedures and using telemedicine instead of face-to-face encounters for routine medical visits.
Ensuring the delivery of newborn and well-child care, including childhood immunization, requires different strategies. Healthcare providers in communities affected by COVID-19 are using strategies [such as these from AAP] to separate well visits from sick visits. Examples include:
- Scheduling well visits in the morning and sick visits in the afternoon
- Separating patients spatially, such as by placing patients with sick visits in different areas of the clinic or another location from patients with well visits
- Collaborating with providers in the community to identify separate locations for holding well visits for children
Because of personal, practice, or community circumstances related to COVID-19, some providers may not be able to provide well-child visits, including provision of immunizations, for all patients in their practice. If a practice can provide only limited well-child visits, healthcare providers are encouraged to prioritize newborn care and vaccination of infants and young children (through 24 months of age) when possible. CDC is monitoring the situation and will continue to provide guidance.
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Heplisav-B pregnancy registry open for enrollment
The Heplisav-B Pregnancy Registry, sponsored by Dynavax Technologies Corporation and managed by Pharmaceutical Product Development (PPD), Inc., is open for enrolling women vaccinated with Heplisav-B within 28 days before conception or at any time during pregnancy. This registry is the basis for an observational study being conducted in the United States to evaluate pregnancy outcomes in these women. The information collected will provide doctors with an understanding of the effect (if any) of Heplisav-B exposure during pregnancy.
Visit the Heplisav-B Pregnancy Registry web page for more information. You may also call 1-844-443-7734 or contact heplisavbpregnancyregistry@ppdi.com.
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IAC Spotlight! These IAC materials and immunize.org web pages were updated in February and March
IAC Express provides readers with information about new and updated immunize.org educational materials for healthcare professionals and handouts for patients. All these materials are free for you to download, print, and distribute. IAC Express also announces major updates to the immunize.org web pages.
Below is a list of new and updated items announced in IAC Express during the past two months.
Educational Materials for Healthcare Professionals
Staff Education Materials
Handouts for Your Patients
Web Pages
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CDC reports lab-confirmed flu activity is slowing, but not gone; continue vaccinating
There has been an increase in the percentage of visits for influenza-like illness, presumably due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the number of positive influenza tests continues to decline. Thirty-eight states and Puerto Rico reported widespread influenza activity, ten states reported regional activity, the District of Columbia, Alaska, and Hawaii reported local activity, and the U.S. Virgin Islands reported sporadic activity for the week ending March 21. For details, please see CDC’s Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report, FluView.
Six influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported to CDC between weeks ending February 8 and March 14. A total of 155 influenza-associated pediatric deaths have been reported for the 2019–20 season. CDC estimates that so far this season there have been at least 39 million flu illnesses, 400,000 hospitalizations and 24,000 deaths from flu.
Influenza vaccination is recommended for everyone 6 months of age and older, so please continue to vaccinate all your patients in this age range. 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 influenza vaccination services near them.
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Not-to-miss immunization articles in the news
These recent articles convey the potential risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and the importance of vaccination.
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Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus information
CDC, NIH, WHO, and Johns Hopkins are closely monitoring the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Be sure to check the resources below for the latest information. Stay in touch with your local and state health departments.
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IAC HANDOUTS
IAC revises “Guide to Contraindications and Precautions to Commonly Used Vaccines,” which covers vaccines for children and adults, and “Guide to Contraindications and Precautions to Commonly Used Vaccines in Adults”
IAC has updated both Guide to Contraindications and Precautions to Commonly Used Vaccines, which covers vaccines for children and adults, and Guide to Contraindications and Precautions to Commonly Used Vaccines in Adults. Changes were made to show that (a) hypersensitivity to yeast is a contraindication for vaccination with both HPV and PCV13 vaccines, (b) pregnancy is a precaution for use of MenB vaccine, and (c) several URLs have been updated in the footnotes.
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IAC updates Tdap/Td standing orders templates for children age 7 and older, for adults, and for pregnant women
IAC recently updated its guidance documents titled Standing Orders for Administering Tdap/Td Vaccine to Children Age 7 Years and Older and Standing Orders for Administering Tdap/Td Vaccine to Adults. These resources were updated to incorporate the updated ACIP recommendation to administer either Tdap or Td (they are now interchangeable) to children age 7 years and older and adults as part of their primary series or as booster doses.
IAC also updated its Standing Orders for Administering Tdap to Pregnant Women guidance document. Changes were made to incorporate the updated ACIP recommendations described in the previous paragraph.
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IAC revises “DTaP, Tdap, and Td Catch-up Vaccination Recommendations by Prior Vaccine History and Age”
Order copies of IAC’s laminated 2020 U.S. child/adolescent and adult immunization schedules for your exam rooms today!
IAC's laminated versions of the 2020 U.S. child/adolescent immunization schedule and the 2020 U.S. adult immunization schedule are available now.
These schedules are ideal for use in any busy healthcare setting where vaccinations are given. Their tough coating can be wiped down, and they’re durable enough to stand up to a year's worth of use.
The child/adolescent schedule is eight pages (i.e., four double-sided pages) and the adult schedule is six pages (i.e., three double-sided pages), but both schedules fold down to a convenient 8.5" x 11" size.
 
With color coding for easy reading, our laminated schedules replicate the original CDC formatting, including the essential tables and notes.
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 of 1,000 copies or more, call 651-647-9009 or email admininfo@immunize.org.
Visit the Shop IAC: Laminated Schedules web page for more information on the schedules, to view images of all the pages, to download the PDF order form, or to order online.
Please Note:
Due to the Minnesota Governor's order regarding essential services, the IAC office will not be shipping orders of our shop items until the week of April 13 at the earliest. Our online shopping cart will continue to take orders and they will be fulfilled as soon as possible. Updates will be posted on the Shop IAC section of immunize.org. If your need for the item is critical, please email us at admininfo@immunize.org.
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Not-to-miss information and videos on handwashing
Now, more than ever, it’s important to remind your patients and staff to be diligent about handwashing. Below are some friendly reminders.
- Several times during the day, wash your hands for 20 seconds (sing “Happy Birthday” twice) with soap and water, and remember to get all surfaces of your fingers, including thumbs. Hand sanitizer is great if you have it, but soap and water is better at washing things away.
- Stop touching your face, as much as you can. Viruses infect through mucous membranes such as eyes, nose, and mouth, but not through intact skin.
- Stay 6 feet away from others, even when outdoors, and especially when indoors.
Check out these handwashing videos:
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Reminder: "65+ Flu Defense" website features tools and resources for healthcare professionals serving adults age 65 and older
In the 2018–19 season, only 68% of adults age 65 and older were vaccinated against the flu. As a healthcare provider, your confident recommendation in favor of flu vaccine can be powerfully persuasive and make a significant difference in determining if your patients are vaccinated. This is true as the 2019–20 season winds down and as you anticipate the 2020–21 season in coming months.
To assist you in your efforts to maximize protection for your patients, IAC, in collaboration with Seqirus, has updated the "65+ Flu Defense" website at www.influenza-defense.org. This helpful site includes information, tools, and tips for communicating with older patients about the scope and severity of flu and addresses patient hesitancy around vaccination.
Two helpful patient handouts are also available on the website:
Be sure to check out the updated "65+ Flu Defense" website at www.influenza-defense.org to assist your efforts in protecting this vulnerable population.
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JOURNAL ARTICLES AND NEWSLETTERS
CDC publishes March issue of Immunization Works newsletter; subscribe for monthly immunization resources and information
CDC recently released the March issue of its monthly newsletter Immunization Works. The newsletter offers the immunization community information about current topics. The information is in the public domain and can be reproduced and circulated widely.
Subscribe to CDC's Immunization Works newsletter for monthly resources and information on vaccination sent straight to your inbox.
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Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia publishes March issue of Vaccine Update newsletter
The Vaccine Education Center (VEC) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia publishes a monthly immunization-focused newsletter titled Vaccine Update. The March issue includes several pertinent articles, including the following:
Access the sign-up form to subscribe to Vaccine Update.
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EDUCATION AND TRAINING
New staff? Need a refresher? Learn more about immunization and improve your clinical skills! Check out these archived webinars and training modules from authoritative sources.
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