Issue
Number 568
December 5, 2005
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
- CDC issues press release about the appointment of three
new center directors
- Important: Deadline for nominations to ACIP is December
19; ACIP's provisional recommendations are now online
- Heads up: One-word error now corrected on
Spanish-language VISs for injectable and nasal-spray influenza vaccines
- New: Interim VIS for Tdap vaccine now available in
Spanish
- CDC provides information about newly licensed
measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine
- CDC updates its Influenza web section with English- and
Spanish-language materials
- New: December 2 issue of Hep Express now available
online
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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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December 5, 2005
CDC ISSUES PRESS RELEASE ABOUT THE APPOINTMENT OF THREE NEW CENTER DIRECTORS
On November 23, CDC published a press release announcing the appointment of
three new directors, including the director of the National Immunization
Program. Portions of the press release are reprinted below.
Following the reprinted material from the press release is a link to an
article, "CDC Announces Restructuring Details," from the November 2005 issue
of the newsletter published by Every Child by Two (ECBT). The article
includes an organizational chart depicting the future structure of CDC's
Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases, which includes the current
National Immunization Program, National Center for Infectious Diseases, and
National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention.
This IAC Express article concludes with IAC's expression of thanks for the
leadership provided by Stephen L. Cochi, MD, MPH, acting director of NIP.
*********************
For immediate release
November 23, 2005
CDC DIRECTOR ANNOUNCES NEW CENTER DIRECTORS
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Julie
Gerberding announced today the appointment of new directors for three key
organizational components of the federal agencyresponsible for protecting
the nation's health. . . .
The appointments include Anne Schuchat, MD, as director of the National
Immunization Program. Dr. Schuchat began her career at CDC as an Epidemic
Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer in 1988 and most recently served as the
acting director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID). She
has made critically important contributions to prevention of infectious
diseases in children, including her role in group B streptococcal disease
prevention, where she spearheaded the development of CDC's guidelines, which
have led to an 80 percent reduction in newborn infections and a 75 percent
narrowing of racial disparity in this infectious disease. She has also been
instrumental in pre- and post-licensure evaluations of conjugate vaccines
for bacterial meningitis and pneumonia and in accelerating availability of
these new vaccines in resource-poor countries through WHO and the Global
Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization.
In a second appointment, Rima Khabbaz, MD, was named as the director of the
National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID). Dr. Khabbaz began her career
at CDC as an EIS Officer in 1980 and most recently served as acting deputy
director of NCID. She has worked in research and epidemiology of
hospital-acquired infections [and] viral diseases and played a leading role
in coordinating CDC's programs around blood safety [and] food safety, as
well as emerging infectious diseases. She has played critical roles in CDC's
responses to bioterrorism, outbreaks of new diseases, and infectious disease
responses to natural disasters.
In addition, Kevin Fenton, MD, PhD, was named director of the National
Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHSTP). Dr. Fenton has served as
chief of CDC's National Syphilis Elimination Effort since January 2005. He
has worked in research, epidemiology, and the prevention of HIV and other
STDs since 1995 and was previously the director of the HIV and STI
Department at the United Kingdom's Health Protection Agency. Dr. Fenton has
spearheaded the development of a number of national HIV, STD, and behavioral
surveillance and research programs in the U.K. and Western Europe including
the National Chlamydia Screening Programme in England, the 2nd British
National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles, and the European
Surveillance of STI (ESSTI) Network. . . .
*********************
To access the press release from the CDC website, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r051123.htm
IAC staff look forward to working with Dr. Schuchat, Dr. Khabbaz, and Dr.
Fenton in their new roles as CDC center directors to meet the challenging
public health issues that lie ahead.
LINK TO ECBT ARTICLE
For more information on CDC's restructuring, see "CDC Announces
Restructuring Details" in the November 2005 issue of the Every Child by Two
newsletter at
http://www.ecbt.org/cdcrstrc.html
IAC THANKS DR. STEPHEN COCHI FOR HIS LEADERSHIP
IAC staff express our great appreciation to Stephen L. Cochi, MD, MPH, for
his outstanding leadership as acting director at CDC's National Immunization
Program for the past 22 months. We also thank him for his services as NIP
liaison to IAC's Advisory Board for the past two years and his personal
commitment to IAC's mission and work.
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December 5, 2005
IMPORTANT: DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS TO ACIP IS DECEMBER 19; ACIP'S
PROVISIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS ARE NOW ONLINE
On November 28, CDC published a special "read immediately" issue of its
email newsletter Immunization Works. The newsletter announces that CDC is
soliciting nominations to fill five vacancies on its Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices (ACIP). The "read immediately" issue is reprinted
below in its entirety.
Following the reprinted material is information about NIP's web page of
provisional ACIP recommendations.
********************
DATE: November 28, 2005
FROM: Executive Secretary, ACIP
SUBJECT: Request for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
Nominations
TO: ACIP Members, Ex Officio and Liaison Representatives
Director, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention
Director, National Immunization Program
Director, National Center for Infectious Diseases Vaccine Manufacturers
The purpose of this correspondence is to solicit proposals for nominations
for five vacancies on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
These vacancies will occur June 30, 2006. The positions being vacated [are]
presently held by Dr. Judith Campbell, Dr. Reginald Finger, Dr. Janet
Gilsdorf, Dr. Edgar Marcuse, and Dr. Gregory Poland. All [nominations] must
be submitted to Dee Gardner by December 19, 2005.
Selection of members will be based on their qualifications to contribute to
the accomplishment of the committee's objectives (http://www.cdc.gov/nip/ACIP).
Department of Health and Human Services policy provides that committee
membership will be fairly balanced in terms of points of view represented
and the committee's function. Consideration will be given to a broad
representation of geographic areas; nominations of women, ethnic and racial
minority representatives, and the handicapped are encouraged. Nominees must
be U.S. citizens.
Please submit your suggestions for nomination to the committee, along with a
letter of support and curriculum vitae, by December 19, 2005, to
Demetria Gardner
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road, Mailstop E-61
Atlanta, Georgia 30333
Ph: (404) 639-8836
Fax: (404) 639-8616
Please share this request with anyone who may be interested in nominating an
individual to serve as a member on the committee.
Larry K. Pickering, MD
Executive Secretary
***********************
To access the "read immediately" issue from the CDC website, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/news/newsltrs/imwrks/2005/11-28-05_spec_imwks.htm
PROVISIONAL ACIP RECOMMENDATIONS
NIP recently announced the availability of a web page containing information
about ACIP's provisional recommendations. Provisional recommendations are
those that ACIP has voted on but that have not yet been officially approved
by CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services and published in MMWR.
To access the web page of provisional recommendations, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/recs/provisional_recs
To access a complete list of ACIP recommendations already published in MMWR,
go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/acip-list.htm
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December 5, 2005
HEADS UP: ONE-WORD ERROR NOW CORRECTED ON SPANISH-LANGUAGE VISs FOR
INJECTABLE AND NASAL-SPRAY INFLUENZA VACCINES
IAC recently became aware of a one-word error in the Spanish-language VISs
for the trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV; injectable) and the
live intranasal influenza vaccine (LAIV; nasal spray). IAC is grateful to
the California Department of Health Services for correcting the error. IAC
regrets any inconvenience the error may have caused.
The error appeared in the first section of the VISs, which is titled Por que
vacunarse? (Why get vaccinated?). In the last sentence of the fourth
paragraph, the word "deaths" was mistakenly translated as "vidas" ("lives").
It has now been correctly translated as "muertes." The beginning of the
sentence now reads, "Cada ano la influenza causa unas 36,000 muertes . . ."
VIS FOR INJECTABLE (TIV) VACCINE (dated 10/20/05)
To obtain a ready-to-print (PDF) version of the corrected VIS for TIV
vaccine in Spanish, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vis/spflu05.pdf
To obtain VIS for TIV vaccine in English, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vis/2flu.pdf
VIS FOR NASAL-SPRAY (LAIV) VACCINE (dated 10/20/05)
To obtain a ready-to-print (PDF) version of the corrected VIS for LAIV
vaccine in Spanish, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vis/spliveflu05.pdf
To obtain VIS for LAIV vaccine in English, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vis/liveflu.pdf
For information about the use of VISs, and for VISs in a total of 33
languages, visit IAC's VIS web section at
http://www.immunize.org/vis
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December 5, 2005
NEW: INTERIM VIS FOR Tdap VACCINE NOW AVAILABLE IN SPANISH
The current version of the interim VIS for tetanus-diphtheria-acellular
pertussis vaccine (Tdap; dated 9/22/05) is now available on the IAC website
in Spanish. IAC gratefully acknowledges the California Department of Health
Services for the translations.
To obtain a ready-to-print (PDF) version of the VIS for Tdap vaccine in
Spanish, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vis/sp_tdap.pdf
To obtain it in English, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vis/tdap.pdf
For information about the use of VISs, and for VISs in a total of 33
languages, visit IAC's VIS web section at
http://www.immunize.org/vis
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December 5, 2005
CDC PUBLISHES INFORMATION ABOUT NEWLY LICENSED
MEASLES-MUMPS-RUBELLA-VARICELLA VACCINE
CDC published "Notice to Readers: Licensure of a Combined Live Attenuated
Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella Vaccine" in the December 2 issue of
MMWR. Portions of the article are reprinted below.
***********************
On September 6, 2005, the Food and Drug Administration licensed a combined
live attenuated measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine (ProQuad,
Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, New Jersey) for use in children aged
12 months-12 years. The attenuated measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine
viruses in ProQuad are identical and of equal titer to those in the measles,
mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, MMRII (Merck). The titer of Oka/Merck
varicella-zoster virus is higher in MMRV vaccine than in single-antigen
varicella vaccine, VARIVAX (Merck), a minimum of 3.13 log 10 plaque-forming
units (pfu) versus 1,350 pfu (approximately 1.13 log 10), respectively.
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) current recommendations
are that children aged 12 months-12 years receive 2 doses of MMR vaccine at
least 1 month apart and 1 dose of varicella vaccine. MMRV vaccine can
decrease the number of injections received by children when all of the
component antigens are indicated for administration. One dose of MMRV
vaccine should be administered on or after the first birthday, preferably as
soon as the child becomes eligible for vaccination. . . .
Indications and Usage
1. MMRV vaccine is indicated for simultaneous vaccination against measles,
mumps, rubella, and varicella among children aged 12 months-12 years; MMRV
is not indicated for persons outside of this age group. Use of licensed
combination vaccines, such as MMRV vaccine, is preferred over separate
injection of equivalent component vaccines. MMRV vaccine can reduce the
number of injections when administered to children aged 12 months-12 years
for whom (1) the first dose of MMR and varicella vaccines is indicated and
(2) the second dose of MMR and either the first or second dose (e.g., during
a varicella outbreak) of varicella vaccine is indicated. MMRV vaccine is
administered subcutaneously as a single 0.5-mL dose.
2. MMRV vaccine may be used whenever any components of the combination
vaccine are indicated and the other components are not contraindicated.
Using combination vaccines containing some antigens not indicated at the
time of administration might be justified when (1) products that contain
only the needed antigens are not readily available or would result in extra
injections and (2) potential benefits to the child outweigh the risk of
adverse events associated with the extra antigen(s).
3. At least 1 month should elapse between a dose of measles-containing
vaccine, such as MMR vaccine, and a dose of MMRV vaccine. Should a second
dose of varicella vaccine be indicated for children aged 12 months-12 years
(e.g., during a varicella outbreak), at least 3 months should elapse between
administration of any 2 doses of varicella-containing vaccine, including
single-antigen varicella vaccine or MMRV vaccine.
4. Simultaneous administration of the most widely used live and inactivated
vaccines have produced seroconversion rates and rates of adverse reactions
similar to those observed when the vaccines are administered separately.
Therefore, MMRV may be administered simultaneously with other vaccines
recommended at ages 12 months-12 years, although data are absent or limited
for the concomitant use of MMRV vaccine with DTaP, inactivated polio,
pneumococcal conjugate, influenza, and hepatitis A vaccines.
5. MMRV vaccine must be stored frozen at an average temperature 5 degrees F
[or less] (-15 degrees C [or less]) for up to 18 months. Adequacy of the
freezer should be checked before obtaining or storing MMRV vaccine. Unlike
single-antigen varicella vaccine, MMRV vaccine cannot be stored at
refrigerator temperature. Once reconstituted, the vaccine should be used
immediately to minimize loss of potency and should be discarded if not used
within 30 minutes. The diluent should be stored separately at room
temperature or in the refrigerator.
6. MMRV vaccine should not be administered as a substitute for the component
vaccines when vaccinating children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
infection until revised recommendations can be considered for the use of
MMRV vaccine in this population; current recommendations for vaccination of
HIV-infected children with MMR and varicella vaccines are available.
ACIP recommendations for MMR and varicella vaccines have been previously
published and are applicable for the respective components of MMRV vaccine.
Additional information regarding ProQuad is available from the package
insert provided by the manufacturer (http://www.merck.com).
***********************
To access a web-text (HTML) version of the complete article, go
to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5447a4.htm
To access a ready-to-print (PDF) version of this issue of MMWR, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5447.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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December 5, 2005
CDC UPDATES ITS INFLUENZA WEB SECTION WITH ENGLISH- AND SPANISH-LANGUAGE
MATERIALS
CDC recently updated three pages of its Influenza web section:
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"Key facts about avian influenza (bird flu) and avian influenza A (H5N1)
virus" (11/25/05)
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"Informacion importante sobre el virus de la gripe aviar (gripe del pollo)
y de la gripe aviar A (H5N1)" (the Spanish-language version of the piece
listed above; 11/25/05)
-
"Guidelines and recommendations: Infection control guidance for the
prevention and control of influenza in acute-care facilities" (formerly
known as "Updated infection control measures for the prevention and
control of influenza in healthcare facilities"; 11/16/05)
To access these materials, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/whatsnew.htm#updated and click on the pertinent
links.
To access a broad range of continually updated influenza information, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu
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December 5, 2005
NEW: DECEMBER 2 ISSUE OF HEP EXPRESS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
The December 2 issue of Hep Express, an electronic newsletter published by
IAC, is now available online. It is intended for health and social service
professionals involved in the prevention and treatment of viral hepatitis.
IAC Express has already covered some of the information presented in the
December 2 Hep Express; titles of articles we have not yet covered follow.
-
Visit IAC's booth at the National Viral Hepatitis Prevention Conference
next week
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Ribavirin Pregnancy Registry established
-
Multi-center treatment trial for children with chronic HVC now enrolling
patients
To access the December 2 issue, go to:
http://www.hepprograms.org/hepexpress/issue38.asp
To sign up for a free subscription to Hep Express, go to:
http://www.hepprograms.org/hepexpress/signup.asp
To access previous issues of Hep Express, go to:
http://www.hepprograms.org/hepexpress |
