Issue Number 457            April 26, 2004

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE

1. Flash bulletin from the Influenza Summit: Providers, place your influenza vaccine orders NOW!
2. APIC announces national initiative to increase influenza vaccination rates among health care workers
3. Physicians and health educators--CDC needs YOU!
4. Understanding vaccine-safety information from VAERS
5. New: Two Spanish-language videos are added to IAC's website
6. American Immunization Registry Association announces website redesign and expansion
7. CDC publishes a hard copy of its April 16 electronic article on the current measles outbreak among adoptees from China
8. Erratum: MMWR corrects information from its April 14 update on the current measles outbreak among adoptees from China
9. New translation: Hepatitis B brochure now available in Tongan
10. HFI's National Viral Hepatitis Summit to be held August 26-27 in Baltimore, MD

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ABBREVIATIONS: AAFP, American Academy of Family Physicians; AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics; ACIP, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; FDA, Food and Drug Administration; IAC, Immunization Action Coalition; MMWR, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; NIP, National Immunization Program; VIS, Vaccine Information Statement; VPD, vaccine-preventable disease; WHO, World Health Organization.
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April 26, 2004
FLASH BULLETIN FROM THE INFLUENZA SUMMIT: PROVIDERS, PLACE YOUR INFLUENZA VACCINE ORDERS NOW!

Co-sponsored by CDC and the American Medical Association (AMA), the 2004 National Influenza Vaccine Summit was held in Atlanta on April 13 and 14. THE MOST URGENT RECOMMENDATION TO COME FROM THE SUMMIT IS THAT HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS NEED TO ORDER INFLUENZA VACCINE FOR THE 2004-05 INFLUENZA SEASON BY MID-MAY 2004. That's only three weeks away!

WHY SO SOON?
It takes months to manufacture influenza vaccine. In large part, manufacturers base the quantity of influenza vaccine they produce on what they term "pre-booking" from private and public health care providers. Pre-booking for the 2004-05 influenza season began four months ago, on December 1, 2003, and will continue for only a few weeks more.

DO IT NOW!
If you have not already pre-booked, now's the time. Be sure to order enough vaccine for routine vaccination of children ages 6-23 months in your practice, as well as for all other patients who need it and for staff members in your work setting. Then, contact your influenza vaccine distributor to place your order.
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April 26, 2004
APIC ANNOUNCES NATIONAL INITIATIVE TO INCREASE INFLUENZA VACCINATION RATES AMONG HEALTH CARE WORKERS

On April 14, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) issued a press release announcing the launch of a national initiative to increase influenza vaccination rates among health care workers. The initiative comprises three activities:

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POSITION STATEMENT to be published in an upcoming issue of the association's journal, the "American Journal of Infection Control." The statement will highlight actions APIC members can take to improve health care worker influenza immunization rates.

AN APIC MEMBERSHIP SURVEY to assess the state of employee influenza immunization programs at members' work places.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES designed to help infection control specialists persuade health care institutions to implement formal influenza control policies.

The initiative, including the survey results and new professional resources for members, will be highlighted at APIC's Annual Educational Conference in Phoenix on June 9.

APIC is a nonprofit professional association of more than 10,000 members whose responsibility is the prevention and control of infections and related adverse outcomes in patients and health care workers. To access comprehensive information about the association, visit its website at http://www.apic.org
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April 26, 2004
PHYSICIANS AND HEALTH EDUCATORS--CDC NEEDS YOU!

The National Immunization Program is always looking for volunteers to pilot test its self-study materials. CDC employees cannot pilot test these products because they created them. So, they're turning to YOU, the loyal readers of "IAC EXPRESS," for help. Information about upcoming pilot-testing projects follows:

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Volunteers needed: CDC is seeking people who would like to be pilot testers for immunization training programs. These are mostly self-study programs that can be done over the Internet or using a CD-ROM. We are especially seeking physicians and health educators. The typical pilot testing effort consists of reviewing a training program, taking the evaluation, and providing feedback. The process can take from 2 to 5 hours. Upcoming pilot testing activities include "Smallpox Vaccine: Storage and Handling" and "Increasing Adult Vaccination: What Works." Pilot testers can obtain continuing education credits once the training program becomes approved for CE credit. If interested, please contact Susan Farrall at sfarrall@cdc.gov <mailto:sfarrall@cdc.gov> or at (404) 639-8852.

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April 26, 2004
UNDERSTANDING VACCINE-SAFETY INFORMATION FROM VAERS

The April 2004 issue of the "Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal" (23[4]:287-294) featured an article that explains the defined objectives of the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), as well as its strengths and limitations.

To access an abstract of the article, "Understanding vaccine safety information from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System," from PubMed, go to:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15071280
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April 26, 2004
NEW: TWO SPANISH-LANGUAGE VIDEOS ARE ADDED TO IAC'S WEBSITE

IAC recently added two Spanish-language parent education videos to its Vaccine Information website for the public and health professionals (www.vaccineinformation.org). Please refer Spanish-speaking parents with vaccine questions to these wonderful resources.

IAC gratefully acknowledges the Vaccine Education Center (VEC), Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for both videos.

The 27-minute "Las Vacunas y su Bebe" ("Vaccines and Your Baby") makes the case for the safety, efficacy, and importance of immunization by mixing computer animation with interviews with parents, physicians, and researchers.

To access this video, go to: http://vaccineinformation.org/video/chop2_sp.asp

The 25-minute video "Las Vacunas: Como Separar los Datos de los Temores" ("Vaccines: Separating Fact from Fear") answers questions many parents have about vaccines and provides an extensive network of responsible websites.

To access this video, go to: http://vaccineinformation.org/video/chop1_sp.asp

The videos are dubbed in Spanish and have no English subtitles. Either video can be played or downloaded in its entirety or by segment. Each segment runs less than four minutes and includes a description of its contents in Spanish.

To explore all the video footage available on the Vaccine Information website, go to: http://vaccineinformation.org/video
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April 26, 2004
AMERICAN IMMUNIZATION REGISTRY ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES WEBSITE REDESIGN AND EXPANSION

On April 15, the American Immunization Registry Association (AIRA) announced it has redesigned and expanded its website, http://www.immregistries.org AIRA is a membership organization that promotes the development, implementation, and support of immunization registries as a vital tool in preventing and controlling VPDs.

The redesigned website now features three new sections:

REGISTRY PROFILES is a database of information about most of the nation's immunization registries. It is organized by state, registry name, and search criteria. To access it, go to: http://www.immregistries.org/public.php/ImmRegs/regMain.php

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS has information about AIRA's standing and ad hoc committees. To access it, go to: http://www.immregistries.org/spinterest

KNOWLEDGE SHARING REPOSITORY is a resource of registry-relevant information including journal and conference abstracts, best practices, functional and technical standards, certification information, and sample documents such as grant proposals. To access it, go to: http://www.immregistries.org/know

For additional information, visit AIRA's home page at http://www.immregistries.org or contact Ina Kichen at ikichen@health.nyc.gov
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April 26, 2004
CDC PUBLISHES A HARD COPY OF ITS APRIL 16 ELECTRONIC ARTICLE ON THE CURRENT MEASLES OUTBREAK AMONG ADOPTEES FROM CHINA

CDC published "Update: Multistate Investigation of Measles Among Adoptees from China--April 16, 2004" in the April 23 issue of MMWR. Originally published in the web-based "MMWR Dispatch," the article has not been available in hard-copy format until now.

To access a web-text (HTML) version of the complete article, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5315a7.htm

To access a ready-to-copy (PDF) version of this issue of MMWR, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5315.pdf

To receive a FREE electronic subscription to MMWR (which includes new ACIP statements), go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwrsubscribe.html
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April 26, 2004
ERRATUM: MMWR CORRECTS INFORMATION ABOUT ITS APRIL 14 UPDATE ON THE CURRENT MEASLES OUTBREAK AMONG ADOPTEES FROM CHINA

On April 23, CDC published "Erratum: Vol. 53, No. 14" in the MMWR. The Erratum is reprinted below in its entirety.

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In the brief report, "Update: Measles Among Adoptees from China--April 14, 2004," two incorrect flight numbers were provided for March 27 flights. The correct number for the Delta Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Cincinnati was flight 48, and the correct number for the Delta Airlines flight from Cincinnati to Washington, DC, was flight 5180.

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To access a web-text (HTML) version of the complete article, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5315a9.htm

To access a ready-to-copy (PDF) version of this issue of MMWR, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5315.pdf
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April 26, 2004
NEW TRANSLATION: HEPATITIS B BROCHURE NOW AVAILABLE IN TONGAN

IAC's patient education brochure "If you, your parents, or your children were born in any of these places . . ." is now available in Tongan. IAC gratefully acknowledges the Utah Department of Health, Immunization Department, for the translation.

The brochure is intended to alert patients that hepatitis B virus infection is common in certain geographic areas. It encourages people who were born in these areas (or whose parents or children were) to find out their and/or their parents and children's hepatitis B status.

Health professionals are encouraged to make the brochure available to patients from the following areas: Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Amazon Basin, Pacific Islands, and rural Alaska.

To access a ready-to-copy (PDF) version of the brochure in Tongan, go to: http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4170to.pdf

In addition to Tongan, the brochure is available in English, Amharic (spoken in Ethiopia), Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, Farsi, Hmong, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Somali, Tigrinya (spoken in Eritrea), and Vietnamese. To access the brochure in these languages, go to: http://www.immunize.org/free Scroll down to the section on patient materials, go to item #P4170, and click on the language(s) you want.
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April 26, 2004
HFI'S NATIONAL VIRAL HEPATITIS SUMMIT TO BE HELD AUGUST 26-27 IN BALTIMORE, MD

[The following is cross posted from the Immunization Action Coalition's "HEP EXPRESS" electronic newsletter, 4/15/04.]

The Third Annual National Viral Hepatitis Summit will be held August 26-27, 2004, in Baltimore, MD. The conference is sponsored by the Hepatitis Foundation International (HFI) and is intended for physicians, nurses, psychologists, counselors, outreach workers, patient advocates, and others working with people who are affected by or infected with viral hepatitis.

For information about the agenda and/or registration, go to http://www.hepfi.org/pdfs/registrationsummit.pdf or call (800) 891-0707