Issue Number
156
April 10,
2000
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
- FDA approves Engerix-B preservative-free vaccine
- National Infant Immunization Week is only one week
away!
- CDC publishes article on progress in development of
immunization registries
- CDC publishes correction to website address for aluminum in
vaccines workshop
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(1)
April 10, 2000
FDA APPROVES ENGERIX-B PRESERVATIVE-FREE VACCINE
On March 28, 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the newly reformulated preservative-free
Engerix-B pediatric/adolescent (10mcg per 0.5ml) hepatitis B vaccine manufactured by SmithKline Beecham.
This vaccine product no longer contains thimerosal as a preservative.
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(2)
April 7, 2000
NATIONAL INFANT IMMUNIZATION WEEK IS ONLY ONE WEEK AWAY!
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published an article titled "National Infant Immunization
Week--April 16-22, 2000" in the April 7, 2000, issue of the MMWR. The article reads as follows:
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NATIONAL INFANT IMMUNIZATION WEEK--APRIL 16-22, 2000
National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) is April 16-22, 2000; this year's theme is "You Gave Them Life...Protect
It." This week emphasizes the importance of timely infant and childhood vaccination. Vaccination is one of
the most effective ways to protect children, especially infants and young children, from potentially serious diseases.
Because of increased vaccination efforts in the United States, eight vaccine-preventable diseases are at or near
record low levels. In 1999, 86 measles cases, eight congenital rubella cases,
one diphtheria case, and no wild poliovirus cases were reported.
Approximately 11,000 babies are born each day in the United States; they need 16-20 doses of vaccine before
age 2 years. Although vaccination coverage levels are high for preschool-aged children, approximately 1
million 2-year-old children are missing one or more of the recommended vaccine
doses.
During NIIW, states and communities will sponsor activities designed to highlight the need to achieve
and maintain high childhood vaccination coverage rates. In addition, CDC will launch a new television public
service announcement (PSA) and two radio PSAs in Spanish. Additional information
about NIIW and childhood vaccinations is available from CDC's National Immunization Program World-Wide Web site,
http://www.cdc.gov/nip or the National Immunization
Information Hotline, telephone (800) 232-2522 (English) or (800) 232-0233 (Spanish).
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To obtain the text version (HTML format) of this MMWR article, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4913a1.htm
For a detailed list of upcoming immunization and hepatitis conferences, visit
the Immunization Action Coalition's "Calendar of Events" at: http://www.immunize.org/calendar/
For information on how to obtain a free electronic subscription to the MMWR,
see the instructions that follow article four below.
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(3)
April 7, 2000
CDC PUBLISHES ARTICLE ON PROGRESS IN DEVELOPMENT OF IMMUNIZATION REGISTRIES
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published an article titled "Progress in Development
of Immunization Registries--United States, 1999" in the April 7, 2000, issue of the MMWR. This study is
the first attempt to quantify and evaluate state- and community-based immunization registry
development in the United States. The article states in part:
"Community-based and state-based immunization registries are confidential,
population-based, computerized information systems that contain data about children's
vaccinations and represent an important tool to increase and sustain high vaccination coverage. Immunization
registries consolidate vaccination records for children from multiple providers, provide a vaccination
needs assessment for each child, generate reminder and recall vaccination notices, produce an official vaccination
record, and provide practice-specific and community-based vaccination coverage assessments. One of the Healthy
People 2010 national objectives is to increase to 95 percent the proportion of
children aged less than 6 years who are enrolled in a fully operational population-based immunization registry....
"...data suggest that substantial progress has been made in U.S. communities
and states in enrolling children, recruiting providers, and implementing registry functional
standards.
"Substantial challenges remain in developing registries. One of the greatest
challenges is balancing the need to protect the privacy of patients, providers,
and other users of these systems with the need to gather and share information to protect the public health and provide
clinical benefit to persons....
"Additional information on immunization registries is available from CDC's immunization registry website:
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/registry; telephone (800) 799-7062;
or e-mail, siisclear@cdc.gov."
To obtain the full text version (HTML format) of this article, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4913a2.htm
For information on how to obtain a free electronic subscription to the MMWR,
see the instructions that follow article four below.
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(4)
April 7, 2000
CDC PUBLISHES CORRECTION TO WEBSITE ADDRESS FOR ALUMINUM IN VACCINES WORKSHOP
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published "Errata: Vol. 49, No. 12" in the April 7, 2000,
issue of the MMWR. The second paragraph of this errata states a correction to the "Notice to Readers" titled
"National Vaccine Program Office Workshop on Aluminum in Vaccines," which was published in the March 31, 2000,
issue of the MMWR. The website address provided in the original article was incorrect. The correct website
address is: http://www.cdc.gov/od/nvpo/calendar.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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