Issue 1743: February 21, 2024

Immunize.org updated its popular patient handout Vaccinations for Preteens and Teens.

• The "Maybe" statement was changed to "Yes" for several vaccines that are routinely recommended for preteens and teens who did not receive them in early childhood. Now, vaccines categorized as "Maybe" (such as Hib and pneumococcal vaccines) are only those with limited recommendations based on risk factors for older children and teens not previously vaccinated.
• RSV vaccine was added as a consideration for pregnant teens to protect the infant after birth
• MenABCWY was added as an option for preteens and teens who need vaccination against both MenB and MenACWY

Related Links

• Immunize.org: Clinical Resources: Adolescent Vaccination main page
• Immunize.org: Clinical Resources A–Z main page, where you can filter by topic, vaccine, language, or other criteria

CDC’s Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report, FluView, provides a valuable picture of laboratory-confirmed influenza and influenza-like illness activity state by state.

Influenza Surveillance
For week 6, ending February 10, CDC’s Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report, FluView shows that 27 jurisdictions experienced persistent high or very high activity. Nationwide, 4.5% of patient visits reported through the Outpatient Influenza-Like Illness Surveillance Network (ILINet) were due to respiratory illness that included fever plus a cough or sore throat (i.e., ILI). The national baseline is 2.5%. Eight pediatric influenza-associated deaths were reported this week, bringing the total to 82 children who died of influenza thus far during the 2023–24 season. 



RESP-NET
Visit the CDC Respiratory Virus Hospitalization Surveillance Network (RESP-NET) for weekly reports of hospitalizations across the United States due to three vaccine-preventable seasonal respiratory viruses: COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. 

Influenza Vaccination Dashboard
CDC's Weekly Flu Vaccination Dashboard shows that influenza vaccination coverage for all children is 3.4 percentage points lower this season compared with the same time last season (49.3% compared with 52.7%). Coverage this season so far is 9.8 percentage points lower compared with pre-pandemic coverage at the same time in February 2020 (59.1%).

CDC recommends everyone age 6 months and older get annual influenza vaccination. Influenza and other vaccines (including COVID-19 and RSV vaccines) may be given at the same visit, if indicated. Infants age 6 months and older may receive influenza and COVID-19 vaccines at the same visit when they receive the RSV preventive antibody, nirsevimab.

Locate influenza and COVID-19 vaccines in your area by entering your zip code in the VaccineFinder on Vaccines.gov or Vacunas.gov. To be listed as a provider by VaccineFinder, see the information on this website.

Related Links

• CDC: Weekly National Flu Vaccination Dashboard main page
• CDC: FluView main page
• CDC: RESP-NET main page
• Immunize.org: free clinical resources and patient handouts related to influenza
• Immunize.org: Vaccines: Influenza main page
• Immunize.org: Ask the Experts: Influenza main page

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

• STAT: HHS Fills Key Vaccine Advisory Panel Slots (2/15/24)
• New York Times: How Protected Am I against the Covid Variant JN.1? (2/14/24) 
• NPR: Shots Can Be Scary and Painful for Kids. One Doctor Has a Plan to End Needle Phobia (2/13/24) 
• Politico: There’s a New Life-Saving Vaccine. Why Won’t People Take It? (2/13/24)
• NPR: It’s No Surprise There’s a Global Measles Outbreak. But the Numbers Are ‘Staggering’ (2/8/24)  

Immunize.org recently updated its entire series of 1-page guides to vaccination considerations for adults. Whether your patient is pregnant, has chronic lung disease, is missing a spleen, or has no specific risks, you will find a guide to vaccination suitable to inform them about vaccines they may need.

Where relevant, guides now incorporate:

• Vaccination against mpox
• Information on RSV vaccination 
• Use of MenABCWY as an option for those needing both MenACWY and MenB vaccinations

Please be sure your practice uses the most current versions of each of the following:

• Vaccinations for Adults: You’re Never Too Old to Get Vaccinated!
• Vaccinations for Adults with Chronic Liver Disease or Infection 
• Vaccinations for Adults with Diabetes
• Vaccinations for Adults with Heart Disease 
• Vaccinations for Adults with HIV Infection 
• Vaccinations for Adults with Lung Disease 
• Vaccinations for Adults without a Spleen
• Vaccinations for Men Who Have Sex with Men 
• Vaccinations Needed During Pregnancy

Related Links

• Immunize.org: Clinical Resources: Adult Vaccination main page
• Immunize.org: Clinical Resources A–Z main page, where you can filter by topic, vaccine, language, or other criteria

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Spotlight on the website: Find Answers You Need Fast in "Ask the Experts"

Our popular "Ask the Experts" section of the website now offers three ways to quickly find answers you need among the 1,300+ questions and answers in our database: 

• by selecting a subset of questions about a specific vaccine or topic
• by using available filters
• by searching for specific keywords of interest to you

The keyword search feature in Ask the Experts is robust and quickly finds answers containing your highlighted keywords. When you select a filter, within 2–3 seconds your filtered results will appear. 

We recently added a new feature on the “Ask the Experts” pages in response to your feedback! Users requested that more questions and answers be displayed per page, so we increased the maximum number of questions per page from 20 to 65. If you want to scan both questions and answers, you can click on Show All Answers to display all questions and answers on a page. 

From the “Ask the Experts: All Questions” web page, you can narrow down your search by choosing options listed on the left-hand navigation menu under > By Vaccine or > By Topic. Within a specific subsection, you can also apply keywords or additional filters to further narrow your results.  

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Featured Resources

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Updated shipping information on our sturdy laminated versions of the 2024 U.S. immunization schedules from Immunize.org 

Laminated versions of the 2024 U.S. child and adolescent immunization schedule and the 2024 U.S. adult immunization schedule are shipping now and available in the Immunize.org Shop. A production error required the schedules to be reprinted. Past orders are being replaced and people who place orders now will receive their orders in early March.

While the schedules are available online from CDC at no cost, Immunize.org’s printed, laminated booklets are ideal for use in any busy healthcare setting where vaccinations are given.

• Durable: their tough coating can be wiped down, and they’re durable enough to stand up to a year's worth of use
• Format: each schedule is produced in a 16-page, 8.5” X 11” booklet format; with color coding for easy reading, our laminated schedules replicate the original CDC formatting, including all tables and notes
• Easy access to CDC updates: CDC added an online addendum page to the schedule, where new recommendations from ACIP made during 2024 can be posted. The laminated schedule addendum pages include custom QR codes you can scan to view or print the current CDC addendum from CDC's website, as needed.
• Adult schedule bonus: the adult schedule includes a bonus page with Immunize.org’s popular 1-page handout summarizing the dose, route, and needle size recommendations for all adult vaccines and recipients

    

Pricing

• 1 copy: $10.00
• 2–4 copies: $9.50 each
• 5–19 copies: $8.50 each
• 20–99 copies: $7.50 each
• 100–499 copies: $6.00 each
• 500–999 copies: $5.00 each
• 1,000–1,999 copies: $4.00 each
• 2,000+ copies: $3.25 each

Visit the Shop Immunize.org: Laminated Schedules web page to view images of all the pages, to download the order form, and to order today!

For additional information, including large bulk orders, call 651-647-9009 or email admininfo@immunize.org.

Related Links

• Immunize.org: Laminated Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedules (0–18 years) web page
• Immunize.org: Laminated Adult Immunization Schedules (19 and older) web page
• Immunize.org: Shop Immunize.org main page

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Organizing a new vaccination program? Use Immunize.org’s Vaccinating Adults: A Step-by-Step Guide—free to download. 

Download Immunize.org’s free 142-page book on adult vaccination to help build your program and train your team: Vaccinating Adults: A Step-by-Step Guide (Guide).

 

This thorough "how to" guide on adult vaccination provides easy-to-use, practical information covering all essential activities. It helps vaccine providers enhance their existing adult vaccination services or introduce them into any clinical setting.

The Guide is available to download/print either by chapter or in its entirety free of charge. The National Vaccine Program Office and CDC both supported the development of the Guide and provided early technical review.

The Guide is a valuable resource to assist providers in increasing adult vaccination rates. Be sure to get a copy today!

Please note: this guide was produced in 2017, before the COVID-19 era, and reflects the recommendations of that time.

Related Links

• Vaccinating Adults: A Step-by-Step Guide main page, permitting download of entire Guide (142 pages, PDF)
• View the table of contents and individual chapters (PDF):
  • Table of Contents
  • Step 1: Getting Started
  • Step 2: Setting Up for Vaccination Services
  • Step 3: Vaccine Storage and Handling
  • Step 4: Deciding Whom to Vaccinate
  • Step 5: Administering Vaccines
  • Step 6: Documentation and Related Issues
  • Step 7A: Financial Considerations
  • Step 7B: How to Bill for Adult Immunizations
• Immunize.org’s Clinical Resources (handouts) on adult immunization

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Updated 65+ Flu Defense website offers resources for healthcare professionals serving older adults   

Confident recommendations for influenza vaccine from healthcare providers are powerfully persuasive. To assist you in maximizing protection for your patients, Immunize.org, in collaboration with CSL Seqirus, updated the 65+ Flu Defense website.

Older adults are at increased risk of severe influenza and COVID-19 illness, including hospitalization and death, especially if they are not up to date on these vaccinations. An updated fact sheet on the website, The Importance of Preventing Influenza and COVID-19, offers responses to help guide discussions with patients on the importance of preventing influenza and COVID-19. 



This helpful site includes information, tools, and tips for communicating with adults age 65 and older about the scope and severity of influenza. Resources include:

• Influenza in Adults 65+: The Facts
• Influenza Vaccination: Questions Patients Aged 65 and Older Frequently Ask Their HCP
• The Importance of Preventing Influenza and COVID-19

Check out the updated 65+ Flu Defense website at www.influenza-defense.org to assist your ongoing efforts in protecting this vulnerable population.

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JAMA Pediatrics published Maternal Vaccine Effectiveness against Influenza-Associated Hospitalizations and Emergency Department Visits in Infants by Sahni et al, which was described in IZ Express #1,733 on December 20, 2023. An accompanying commentary is now available to put that study’s findings in perspective. Portions of the commentary appear below. 

Maternal influenza vaccination protects expectant persons from illness and its complications as well as infants in the first 6 months of life through transplacental transfer of antibodies. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend inactivated influenza vaccination be administered during the influenza season to all pregnant persons. . . .

The disparities seen in the study by Sahni et al are all too familiar, with non-Hispanic Black infants and those with public insurance being more likely to be born to unvaccinated mothers and being more likely to have influenza-related hospitalizations or ED visits. Systemic and institutional racism contribute to systematic differences in vaccine uptake and to disparate health outcomes for Black pregnant persons and infants. . . .

The current issue’s report strengthens the evidence that infants benefit when persons receive the quadrivalent-inactivated influenza vaccine during pregnancy. With only half of pregnant persons receiving the influenza vaccine in this study and nationally, there is a huge opportunity to improve vaccine coverage and health outcomes for all pregnant persons and newborns. To optimize health of the pregnancy dyad, it is essential that vaccine registries expand from children to persons of all ages and thereby eliminate record scatter. A second opportunity is that all clinicians seeing pregnant persons for a pregnancy visit, prenatal visit, or a visit of a child strongly recommend influenza vaccination during pregnancy. A third opportunity is that obstetric and pediatric clinicians collaborate to share effective approaches in their communities to enhance access, confidence, and coverage of vaccines and preventive care.