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Immunize.org launches new social media program to highlight our educational resources; please like and share on your channels!
Immunize.org launched a new social media program to highlight our educational resources. Our social media channels now feature our most popular printable resources and Ask the Experts questions, as well as announcements important to frontline vaccinators.
Like, follow, and share Immunize.org’s social media accounts and encourage colleagues and others interested in vaccination to do likewise:
Each additional follower extends the reach of our work to help healthcare professionals deliver quality vaccination services to people of all ages.
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August is National Immunization Awareness Month; promote vaccination with helpful resources for all ages
August is National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM). This annual observance highlights efforts to protect people of all ages against vaccine-preventable diseases through on-time vaccination. This year, NIAM focuses our attention on the urgent need to catch up on routine visits and vaccinations that were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
CDC’s NIAM web page includes key messages, sample social media content, and educational resources in two toolkits:
CDC encourages its partners to share these messages and resources throughout August using the hashtag #ivax2protect. Stay tuned for more resources to be released throughout the coming weeks.
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Autism Society of America releases its “Guide to Accessible Vaccine Clinics” The Autism Society of America released its Guide to Accessible Vaccine Clinics, which shares helpful tips and links for vaccination providers who serve neurodiverse patients, including those with autism. Neurodiverse people may avoid vaccinations because vaccination visits can be traumatic and stressful. The guide also offers ideas that may be valuable to all patients of any age who have anxiety about vaccination visits.
 
The Autism Society of America believes increasing vaccination rates is a crucial step towards improving the lives of people with autism, their families, and their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through its COVID-19: Vaccine Education Initiative (VEI), the Autism Society of America is committed to increasing vaccine education, confidence, and access through grassroots efforts. The initiative offers toolkits, support groups, educational programs, online events, and more.
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World Hepatitis Day was recognized on July 28; share Immunize.org’s resources all year long World Hepatitis Day is recognized annually on July 28, the birthday of Baruch Blumberg, MD, PhD, who discovered the hepatitis B virus in 1967 and two years later developed the basis for the first hepatitis B vaccine. This year’s campaign was “I Can’t Wait,” which highlighted the need to accelerate the fight against viral hepatitis and the importance of testing and treatment for people who need it. The campaign will amplify the voices of people affected by viral hepatitis, calling for immediate action and the end of stigma and discrimination.
World Hepatitis Day 2022 is behind us, but it's important to spread hepatitis awareness, treatment, and prevention resources throughout the year. Vaccination prevents hepatitis A and hepatitis B. In addition to people with a wide range of risk factors, hepatitis A vaccination is also recommended for all children younger than age 19 years, and hepatitis B vaccination is recommended for all children and adults younger than age 60 years.
Offer these Immunize.org resources in your practice and with your colleagues:
Spotlight: Review of resources at Immunize.org focused on communications Immunize.org offers many resources that focus on communication between healthcare personnel, patients, and caregivers.
Talking about Vaccines web page provides healthcare professionals with 11 topical web pages to help them discuss vaccination with concerned parents or patients. Examples include “Adjuvants,” “Alternative Medicine,” “Autism,” “Religious Concerns,” and “Thimerosal.”
Unprotected People Stories features more than 100 real-life accounts of people who suffered or died from vaccine-preventable diseases.
Handouts for Patients and Staff leads to hundreds of resources that are free to download, print, copy, and distribute widely.
Vaccine Basics: Common Questions about Vaccines on Immunize.org’s public website, vaccineinformation.org, offers patients and caregivers timely, accurate, and factual information about vaccines and the diseases they prevent.
These recent articles convey the potential risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and the importance of vaccination.
Featured Resources
American Academy of Pediatrics develops interactive map to explore each state’s vaccination rates and compare them with national rates American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) developed an interactive map, Child Vaccination across America. This tool allows the user to see state and national vaccination rates (including COVID-19 vaccination rates) and outbreaks when hovering over the map. Users also can learn about vaccination gaps related to insurance, race and ethnicity, poverty, and geographic area.
Find all of this information using the interactive map created by AAP.
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On Voices for Vaccines’ new podcast, William Schaffner, MD, describes what’s going on with non-COVID-19 respiratory viruses Voices for Vaccines (VFV) posted a new entry in its Vax Talk podcast series, It's Not COVID, featuring William Schaffner, MD. A description from the VFV web page appears below.
Providers working in clinics and hospitals have noticed something: non-COVID respiratory viruses are acting differently. Flu is lingering into June, RSV is messing with kids off-season, and summer is no barrier between us and a cold.
To find out what is happening (and okay, it might have to do with COVID) and how vaccines can help, we talked to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Dr. Bill Schaffner.
Voices for Vaccines is a national organization of parents and others dedicated to raising the stature of vaccination supporters. VFV invites everyone who values vaccines to become a member, use VFV tools in their own community, and get involved with VFV.
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CHOP’s Vaccine Education Center releases MMR vaccine and hepatitis B vaccine infographics and updates COVID-19 infographic Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's (CHOP) Vaccine Education Center (VEC) offers three new/recently updated infographics for the public:
Vaccine Makers Project adds new video playlist, “Fetal Cells and Vaccines: The Why and How,” featuring Stanley Plotkin, MD, and Paul Offit, MD The Vaccine Makers Project (VMP) added a new video playlist titled Fetal Cells and Vaccines: The Why and How to its YouTube channel. This includes five videos featuring Stanley Plotkin, MD, inventor of the rubella vaccine, and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's (CHOP) Vaccine Education Center (VEC) director, Dr. Paul Offit, MD. Their conversations describe how decades-old cell lines of fetal origin can be used today so that new abortions are not necessary to continue making vaccines that rely on these cell lines.
These videos explain why human cells were used to make some viral vaccines, how these cells were acquired, which vaccines are made using cell lines of fetal origin, what the Catholic Church says about this topic, and how a devastating rubella epidemic moved one scientist to develop an improved rubella vaccine.
Visit Fetal Cells and Vaccines: The Why and How to learn more.
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Explore the www.Give2MenACWY.org website to increase coverage for the MenACWY booster and other adolescent vaccinations Immunize.org's www.Give2MenACWY.org website promotes the importance of adolescent vaccination, including the recommended MenACWY vaccine booster dose at age 16. Many teens are behind on vaccines because of the pandemic, so vaccination is more important than ever.
Materials on this colorful website for healthcare professionals incorporate the 2020 ACIP meningococcal vaccine recommendations and coverage statistics from CDC’s National Immunization Survey–Teen (NIS–Teen). One particularly popular resource on the site is the updated Algorithm for MenACWY Immunization in Adolescents 11 through 18 Years of Age.
The website is divided into five easy-to-access sections:
The site also categorizes materials according to whether they are primarily of interest to providers, to adolescents, or to parents.
Visit Give2MenACWY.org and enjoy browsing (and deploying) its bountiful resources.
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Notable Publications
“Safety Monitoring of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Second Booster Doses among Adults Aged ≥ 50 Years—United States, March 29, 2022–July 10, 2022” published in MMWR
CDC published Safety Monitoring of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Second Booster Doses among Adults Aged ≥ 50 Years—United States, March 29, 2022–July 10, 2022 on July 29 in MMWR. A portion of the summary appears below.
During March 29–July 10, 2022, approximately 16.8 million persons in the United States aged ≥50 years received a fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine....
Among persons aged ≥50 years who reported homologous mRNA COVID-19 vaccination, injection site and systemic reactions were less frequent after a second booster dose than after the first booster dose. Ninety-five percent of 8,515 events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System were nonserious....
Health care providers and patients should be aware that local and systemic reactions are expected after a second mRNA COVID-19 booster dose. Serious adverse events are uncommon.
Access the MMWR article in HTML or PDF.
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“Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Impact and Effectiveness through 12 Years after Vaccine Introduction in the United States, 2003 to 2018” published in Annals of Internal Medicine In the July 2022 issue, Annals of Internal Medicine published Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Impact and Effectiveness through 12 Years after Vaccine Introduction in the United States, 2003 to 2018. Portions of the abstract appear below.
Among sexually experienced females aged 14 to 24 years, the impact on 4vHPV-type prevalence in 2015 to 2018 was 85% overall, 90% among vaccinated females, and 74% among unvaccinated females… Vaccine effectiveness ranged from 60% to 84% during vaccine eras for females and was 51% during 2013 to 2016 for males.…
Nationally representative data show increasing impact of the vaccination program and herd protection. Vaccine effectiveness estimates will be increasingly affected by herd effects.
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Global News
“Progress toward the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatitis B—Worldwide, 2016–2021” published in MMWRCDC published Progress toward the Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission of Hepatitis B—Worldwide, 2016–2021 on July 29, 2022 in MMWR. A portion of the summary appears below.
Mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B virus (HBV), a leading cause of liver cancer, is targeted for global elimination....
During 2016–2020, global coverage with the third dose of hepatitis B vaccine remained between 82% and 85%, whereas timely coverage with hepatitis B birth dose increased from 37% to 43%. Coverage in 2020 was ≥90% for both the hepatitis B birth dose and the 3-dose series of hepatitis B vaccine in 41% of countries. In 11 countries, prevalence of HBV surface antigen among children was ≤0.1%....
Accelerating hepatitis B birth dose introduction, increasing coverage with the third dose of hepatitis B vaccine, and monitoring programmatic and impact indicators are essential for elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HBV.
Access the MMWR article in HTML or PDF.
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Upcoming Events
On-demand: CDC’s recorded webinars on principles of vaccination and general best practice guidelines, as well as other segments in “The Pink Book,” now rolling out weekly; CE available CDC continues its 19-part pre-recorded webinar series to provide a chapter-by-chapter overview of the 14th edition of Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (also known as "The Pink Book").
The fifth webinar, on vaccine storage and handling, was released on August 2; no registration is required. Additional webinars will be released weekly, concluding on November 1, 2022.
Information and program details are available on CDC's Pink Book Webinars series web page.
CME, CNE, CPE, and CEU credits are available for each event. Questions about the material can be submitted to nipinfo@cdc.gov.
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