The September 1, 2022, recommendation for bivalent COVID-19 booster doses for all people age 12 years and older who have completed a primary series, regardless of previous booster doses, represents a major reset in the U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program. Every practice involved in administering or recommending COVID-19 vaccination needs to review and update its practices and patient materials now. CDC and FDA have issued important updated fact sheets, immunization schedules, clinical considerations, and vaccine administration resources. Immunize.org helps you access all of this new information easily. Here are resources and links you need to have at hand:

• Immunize.org updated four-page job aid, Checklist of Current Versions of U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Guidance and Clinic Support Tools. This checklist links you to the latest version of all CDC and FDA COVID-19 vaccine guidance and resources for all ages.
• Immunize.org Ask the Experts: COVID-19 web page has dozens of clinical questions and answers, all up to date with CDC guidance as of September 8
• Immunize.org’s Vaccines: COVID-19 main page will be updated on or before September 16 with a comprehensive list of links to CDC, FDA, and partner resources for COVID-19 vaccination programs.

You will see in our materials that bivalent mRNA vaccine resources have been added and links to most resources for the original monovalent Pfizer-BioNTech “purple cap” formulation have been removed. All remaining doses of this purple cap formulation expire at the end of this month. As guidelines for COVID-19 vaccines are updated and new CDC materials are released, the page will continue to be updated.

Related Links

• Immunize.org: Checklist of Current Versions of U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Guidance and Clinic Support Tools
• Immunize.org: Ask the Experts: COVID-19
• Immunize.org: Vaccines: COVID-19 main page
• CDC: Use of COVID-19 Vaccines in the United States: Interim Clinical Considerations
• CDC: At-a-Glance: COVID-19 Vaccination Schedule 

¡Viva México! September 16 is the 212th anniversary of Mexico’s independence. We celebrate the people of Mexico by sharing select Mexican resources for vaccination information and advocacy. Best wishes to all our friends delivering vaccinations to the people of Mexico!



Expert committees:

• Consejo Nacional de Vacunación (CONAVA), National Advisory Committee for Vaccination, counterpart to ACIP

Advocacy groups and resources:

• Asociación Mexicana de Vacunología
• Alianza por la Vacunación

Helpful resources:

• Boletín Epidemiológico: Sistema Nacional de Vigilancia Epidemiológica Sistema Único de Información (Epidemiological Bulletin: National Epidemiological Surveillance System Unique Information System), counterpart to MMWR
• Lineamientos Generales del Programa de Vacunación Universal y Jornadas de Salud Pública 2020 (General Guidelines of the Universal Vaccination Program and Public Health Conference 2020)
• Esquema Nacional de Vacunación (routine immunization schedule)

COVID-19 materials:

• Gobierno de México: Vacunación COVID information for the public as well as technical documents
• COFEPRIS (counterpart to FDA) Actions Regarding COVID-19: Acciones sobre COVID-19

Government institutions:

• Programa Nacional de Vacunación (National Vaccination Program)
• Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (COFEPRIS) (Federal Commission for Protection Against Health Risks), counterpart to FDA
• Vacunas Autorizadas en México Incluyendo Fichas Tecnicas (Vaccines Registered in Mexico, including technical sheets)

Johns Hopkins University’s International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC), in collaboration with IBM Research, developed VIRA, the Vaccine Information Research Assistant chatbot that offers trustworthy answers to COVID-19 vaccine questions. Through a collaboration with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), VIRA is being fully customized for use by several major U.S. health departments.

To be considered, health departments serving over 500,000 people must submit the simple online application form by September 15.

Health departments selected for the VIRA X NACCHO collaboration will receive technical support to embed VIRA in their organization's web page and related health campaigns, as well as real-time data showing trending and emerging concerns surrounding COVID-19. 



Visit and share a link to VIRA on social media or your organization's website.

Related Link

• NACCHO: Apply to Get a Custom AI Chatbot to Fight COVID-19 Misinformation

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In this week's Spotlight, we summarize Immunize.org resources that focus on enhancing clinic and practice operations.
         
Our topic index on our Clinic Tools main page is a one-stop source of practical information for vaccine providers. You will find "how-to" information about vaccinating in any setting.

Our Clinic Tools: Storage and Handling main page offers printable temperature logs to monitor freezers and refrigerators. This site also includes a troubleshooting record to document the occurrence and resolution of questionable or unacceptable vaccine storage events. 

Our Clinic Tools: Documenting Vaccination main page offers forms to document vaccination or declination of vaccination, as well as various forms and checklists useful to healthcare personnel. 

Our Key Vaccination Resources for Healthcare Professionals is a 5-page annotated list of resources for people who vaccinate or oversee vaccination clinics. The document lists foundational content with which every vaccinator should be familiar, supplemental content useful after completing foundational training, and additional tools to help providers grow in vaccination expertise.

Our free downloadable book, Vaccinating Adults: A Step-by-Step Guide, is a "how to" guide that provides easy-to-use, practical information covering essential adult immunization activities.

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Immunize.org's Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll recognizes facilities that take a stand for patient safety by implementing policies for mandatory healthcare personnel influenza vaccination. There are now 1,292 organizations enrolled. Since July 21, 2022, one additional healthcare organization has been recognized.

• UCLA Arthur Ashe Student Health & Wellness Center, Los Angeles, CA

Eligibility:

• Eligible organizations: Hospitals, long-term care facilities, medical practices, pharmacies, professional organizations, health departments, and other government entities
• Requirements:
  • Your policy must require influenza vaccination for all staff
  • The application must describe measures to prevent transmission of influenza from unvaccinated personnel to patients (e.g., masking for the entire work shift)

• Immunize.org: List of Influenza Vaccination Honorees, all healthcare settings, by state
• Immunize.org: Long-Term Care/Assisted Living Influenza Vaccination Honorees by state
• Immunize.org: Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll program, including:
  • Position statements from professional societies and leading healthcare organizations in support of mandatory influenza vaccination
  • Application form for Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll
• Immunize.org: Honor Roll for Patient Safety web page

Journalists seek out Immunize.org experts to help explain vaccines to the public and policy makers. We help the media understand and communicate the complex work vaccinators do. Here is a recent citation.

• USA Today: Providers Report Dozens of Errors Giving Pfizer’s COVID Vaccine. Experts Worry New Boosters Will Fuel More (9/7/22)

These recent articles convey the potential risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and the importance of vaccination.

• CNN: Black and Hispanic People Are More Likely to Get Monkeypox but Less Likely to Be Vaccinated (9/3/22)
• AAP: American Academy of Pediatrics Urges Families to Get Children Vaccinated for Influenza to Prevent and Control Illness in 2022–23 (9/6/22)
• Politico: COVID Vaccine Drive for Youngest Kids off to Underwhelming Start, Data Shows (9/1/22)

In addition to its very popular standing orders templates and screening checklists for contraindications, Immunize.org posted eight additional influenza vaccination resources updated for the 2022–2023 season. Scanning the QR code in the footer of each document gives you immediate access to that document on your mobile devices.

All of these resources are designed to support your efforts to ensure high rates of influenza vaccination this season and protect the public from the seasonal epidemic threat of influenza.

The updated resources include:

Understanding contraindications and precautions

• Influenza Vaccination of People with a History of Egg Allergy
• Not Sure If You Can Get an Influenza Vaccine?
• Talking with Your Patient about Contraindications and Precautions to Influenza Vaccination

Other influenza-related resources

• Don't Take Chances with Your Family's Health – Make Sure You All Get Vaccinated against Influenza Every Year!
• Declination of Influenza Vaccination
• Guide for Determining the Number of Doses of Influenza Vaccine to Give to Children Age 6 Months through 8 Years
• How to Administer Intramuscular and Intranasal Influenza Vaccines
• Influenza: Questions and Answers (also updated to include ACIP’s new preference for enhanced vaccines for adults age 65 and older)

 Related Links

• Immunize.org: Vaccines: Influenza main page
• Immunize.org: Handouts: Influenza main page
• Immunize.org: Handouts for Patients and Staff main page, where you can sort materials by topic, vaccine, or language
• Immunize.org: Educational Materials for Patients and Staff—an alphabetical listing of more than 230 ready-to-print staff educational materials and patient handouts

Immunize.org posted Turkish translations of Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) issued by CDC on August 6, 2021 and October 15, 2021. These translations were generously donated by Betül Polatdemir, MD, Losante Children’s and Adult Hospital, Ankara, Turkey, and Nur Polatdemir Çevik, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus.

All translations are available in print-ready PDF format. 

VIS translations in Turkish:

• Adenovirus vaccine VIS PDF (view in English)
• Anthrax vaccine VIS PDF (view in English)
• Japanese encephalitis vaccine VIS PDF (view in English)
• Multi pediatric vaccines VIS PDF (view in English)
• Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine VIS PDF (view in English)
• Yellow fever vaccine VIS PDF (view in English)
• Recombinant zoster (shingles) vaccine PDF (view in English)

Related Links

• Immunize.org: Vaccine Information Statement main page for VISs in 47 languages
• Immunize.org: Dates of Current Vaccine Information Statements (PDF)
• CDC: What's New with VISs web page
• CDC: Current VISs web page 

Immunize.org's personal immunization record cards, printed on rip-proof, smudge-proof, water-proof paper, are designed to last a lifetime. They fit in a wallet when folded. Give the record cards to your patients as a permanent personal vaccination record. 

• Child & Teen Immunization Record Card
• Adult Immunization Record Card
• Lifetime Immunization Record Card

They are sold in boxes of 250. Make bulk purchases and receive quantity discounts. For quotes on larger quantities or customizing, or to request sample cards, call 651-647-9009 or email admininfo@immunize.org.

In the August 22 issue, Pediatrics published three journal articles focused on the value of routine childhood immunization and the effectiveness of vaccines in reducing vaccine-preventable diseases. 

• Impact of Routine Childhood Immunization in Reducing Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in the United States
• Value of the Immunization Program for Children in the 2017 U.S. Birth Cohort
• Vaccines Are Profoundly Effective, and We Can’t Stop There (Commentary)    

A highlight from the results section of the "Value" article appears below.

Over the cohort’s lifetime, routine childhood immunization prevented over 17 million cases of disease and 31 000 deaths; 853 000 life years and 892 000 quality-adjusted life-years were gained. Estimated vaccination costs ($8.5 billion) were fully offset by the $63.6 billion disease-related averted costs. Routine childhood immunization was associated with $55.1 billion ([benefit-cost ratio] BCR of 7.5) and $13.7 billion (BCR of 2.8) in averted costs from a societal and healthcare payer perspective, respectively.  

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In the August 30 issue, Pediatrics published Trends in Parents’ Confidence in Childhood Vaccines during the COVID-19 Pandemic. A portion of the discussion appears below. 

In this national sample, the proportion of parents concerned about the safety and side effects of routine childhood vaccines increased significantly between April 2020 and March 2022; this trend was also observed for most parent subgroups. However, parent confidence in the benefits and effectiveness of childhood vaccines remained high. Our findings underscore the important role of pediatricians in addressing parents’ concerns about childhood vaccines, as they are highly trusted by parents about vaccinations and can address vaccine hesitancy. Pediatricians should therefore ask hesitant parents about their particular concerns and be prepared to address safety concerns.

CDC published Detection of a Highly Divergent Type 3 Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus in a Child with a Severe Primary Immunodeficiency Disorder—Chongqing, China, 2022 on September 9 in MMWR. A summary appears below.

Surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and wastewater (environmental) are critical to polio eradication efforts. Children with primary immunodeficiency disorders (PIDs) can excrete vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPVs), which can hamper eradication efforts. . . .

In March 2022, a type 3 VDPV was detected in stool specimens from an infant with PID who was hospitalized in Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, China. Surveillance for poliovirus in PID patients has increased detection of immunodeficiency-related (iVDPV) cases. . . .

Integrated systematic poliovirus surveillance, including AFP, environmental, and iVDPV surveillance, is critical to the detection and containment of all polioviruses and achievement of global polio eradication.

Access the MMWR article in HTML or PDF.

Related Link

• MMWR's main page provides access to MMWR Weekly and its companion publications

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) will host a virtual webinar titled Determination in Science on September 23 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. (ET). This event will celebrate the legacy of prolific vaccine developer, Dr. Maurice Hilleman, and honor the winners of the 2022 Maurice R. Hilleman Essay Contest. The winners will each receive $1,000, a certificate, a VEC prize bag, and recognition during this virtual event.

Register for the Determination in Science virtual event.

Related Links

• The Vaccine Makers Project website
• VEC: Hilleman Film website