Issue 1773: September 4, 2024

This week’s Spotlight features a new way to experience Ask the Experts questions and answers. Short videos recorded by Dr. Kelly Moore have been available for some time on our Videos page and our YouTube channel. Now these are integrated into the Ask the Experts section of our website and are searchable using the filter functions already available for our written content. 
 
Each video includes a preview image linked to the full video. The video duration and a link to view all video questions is listed below the image. Currently, there are 36 Ask the Expert videos, and more will be added in the future. 



In the Ask the Experts section of the website, video and traditional text question-and-answers are intermixed. Both can be viewed by topic or in the search and filter results. If you prefer only video results, use shortcuts to view only videos on the Ask the Experts main menu tab and left-side menu.



We hope you continue to find Ask the Experts to be a valuable resource and that these enhancements will help you more easily find relevant answers to your questions about vaccines and vaccine administration.  

Immunize.org updated all the questions and answers on its popular Ask the Experts: Influenza web page. Clinical content now reflects 2024–25 influenza season recommendations. Changes include:

• References to the 2024–25 trivalent vaccines (containing two influenza A and one influenza B virus vaccine antigen) following removal of the B/Yamagata virus from the vaccine because it is no longer circulating
• Unless necessary for understanding, references to the number of strains in vaccines (also called “valency”) were removed
• ACIP affirmation that everyone age 6 months and older who has an egg allergy may receive any age-appropriate influenza vaccine without special precautions
• ACIP allowance for off-label use of high-dose (HD-IIV, Fluzone High-Dose, Sanofi) or adjuvanted influenza vaccine (aIIV, Fluad, CSL Seqirus) as an option for solid organ transplant recipients age 18 through 64 years who are on immunosuppressive medication regimens, without a preference over any other age-appropriate injectable influenza vaccine
• Updated hyperlinks, as needed

Immunize.org’s Ask the Experts main page leads you to 30 web pages on various topics with more than 1,300 common or challenging questions and answers about vaccines and their administration. Immunize.org’s team of experts includes Kelly L. Moore, MD, MPH (team lead); Carolyn B. Bridges, MD, FACP; Iyabode Beysolow, MD, MPH; and Jane R. Zucker, MD, MPH.

Related Link

• Immunize.org: Ask the Experts main page with more than 1,300 questions and answers

Immunize.org updated all the questions and answers on its popular Ask the Experts: Pneumococcal web page. The clinical content now reflects updated recommendations for PCV21 vaccine (Capvaxive, Merck) as an option for adults age 18 years or older who are recommended to receive a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Hyperlinks were also updated as needed.

Immunize.org’s Ask the Experts main page leads you to 30 web pages on various topics with more than 1,300 common or challenging questions and answers about vaccines and their administration. Immunize.org’s team of experts includes Kelly L. Moore, MD, MPH (team lead); Carolyn B. Bridges, MD, FACP; Iyabode Beysolow, MD, MPH; and Jane R. Zucker, MD, MPH.

Related Link

• Immunize.org: Ask the Experts main page with more than 1,300 questions and answers

Immunize.org recently updated its resource for healthcare professionals titled Before You Vaccinate Adults, Consider Their “H-A-L-O”!

H-A-L-O refers to four factors:

• Health condition
• Age
• Lifestyle
• Occupation

The document now includes mpox vaccine and updated polio (IPV) vaccination recommendations for previously unvaccinated adults. The RSV vaccine section was revised to match the June 2024 ACIP recommendations for routine vaccination of adults age 75 years and older, and risk-based vaccination of adults age 60 through 74 years.

Related Links

• Immunize.org: Clinic Tools: Vaccine Recommendations web page
• Immunize.org: Clinical Resources A–Z main page, where you can filter by topic, vaccine, language, or other criteria

Immunize.org recently added Penbraya (MenABCWY, Pfizer) to its Vaccines with Diluents: How to Use Them and updated the resource to specify the formulation of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine that requires dilution.



Related Links

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

Champions for Vaccine Education, Equity, and Progress (CVEEP), led by the Alliance for Aging Research, HealthyWomen, and the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, released its Stay Updated campaign. This promotion highlights the importance of receiving updated COVID-19 and influenza vaccines this season. This campaign offers fact sheets, an informational poster, a glossary of virology terms, and an information sheet on milestones in COVID-19 vaccination. 



Visit CVEEP's Stay Updated campaign to learn more about the need for updated vaccines and access resources to encourage your community to stay protected.

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 vaccine outreach 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 Algorithm for MenACWY Immunization in Adolescents 11 through 18 Years of Age.

The website is divided into five easy-to-access sections:

• Vaccinate Teens – Teen vaccination schedules and tips for improving vaccination rates
• Give 2 Doses – Tools to help improve second dose coverage of MenACWY vaccine
• 16-Year-Old Visit – Resources to help providers and patients remember the important vaccines recommended for 16-year-olds
• Tools for Providers – Tools to explain meningococcal ACWY vaccine recommendations and improve coverage for all adolescent vaccines
• Resources – Links to print materials, organizations involved in adolescent vaccination, personal stories about the importance of vaccination, and other resources of interest

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.

Related Links 

• Give2MenACWY.org website
• Algorithm for MenACWY Immunization in Adolescents 11–18 Years of Age
• MenACWY: You're Not Done If You Give Just One: Give 2 Doses to Strengthen Protection
• Recommending MenACWY: What to Say and How to Say It
• Top 10 Ways to Improve Adolescent Immunization Rates
• Developing an Immunization Culture in Your Office
• Know Your Rates: Measuring Immunization Success in Your Practice
• You're 16: We Recommend These Vaccines for You
• Dear Colleague Letter: 16-Year-Old Patients: Make Sure They Receive Their Annual Well Visit and Vaccinations – signed by six medical societies
• Ask the Experts: Meningococcal ACWY
• CDC: ACIP Meningococcal Vaccine Recommendations
• CDC: Vaccination Coverage Among Adolescents Aged 13–17 Years—National Immunization Survey–Teen, United States, 2023

In its August 23 issue, Clinical Advisor published Back to School Means Updating Childhood Vaccines. This article was written by Immunize.org’s Mary Beth Koslap-Petraco, DNP, FAANP. The introduction paragraph appears below.

The lazy, crazy days of summer are drawing to a close and it is time to start thinking about back to school and all that entails to prepare students to optimize their health. Vaccines can be number one on the list. We need to take a serious look at how the number of children who receive all necessary vaccines for school has dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic began its devastating march around the world. The immunization rates are even lower in children who are eligible for the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. This federal program provides no-cost vaccines to children who are uninsured or are Medicaid eligible. In some states VFC also covers children whose insurance does not cover vaccines. It is time to review what vaccines are indicated to keep all students healthy and practice some infection prevention.