The two-page document "Guidance on the Use of Pentacel and Pediarix, August 2008" was recently posted on CDC's Vaccines & Immunizations web section. Pentacel, a combination DTaP-IPV-Hib vaccine, was recently approved by FDA; Pediarix is a combination DTaP-IPV-Hep B vaccine.

Intended for healthcare professionals, the document discusses the use of Pentacel during the current Hib vaccine shortage. It also contains four tables for guidance on schedules for Pentacel, Pediarix, and the single-antigen series for Hep B, Hib, IPV, and DTaP vaccines for healthy children during the Hib vaccine shortage.

To access "Guidance on the Use of Pentacel and Pediarix," go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/downloads/pentacel-guidance.pdf

CDC published "Infection Control Requirements for Dialysis Facilities and Clarification Regarding Guidance on Parenteral Medication Vials" in the August 15 issue of MMWR. A summary made available to the press is reprinted below in its entirety.

To receive a FREE electronic subscription to MMWR (which includes new ACIP recommendations), go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwrsubscribe.html

IAC made the following changes to three of its educational pieces:

In the piece "Standing Orders for Administering Influenza Vaccines to Children & Adolescents," changes were made to the sections on recommended ages, precautions, and needle length. To access this revised IAC print resource, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3074a.pdf

In the piece "Standing Orders for Administering Influenza Vaccines to Adults," changes were made to the section on precautions. To access this revised IAC print resource, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3074.pdf

In the piece "Guide to Contraindications and Precautions to Commonly Used Vaccines," changes were made to the sections on rotavirus vaccine; diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTaP) vaccine; tetanus, diphtheria (DT, Td) vaccines; and zoster vaccine. To access this revised IAC print resource, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3072a.pdf

IAC's Print Materials web section has more than 175 FREE, ready-to-print English-language resources for healthcare professionals and the public--as well as many in translation. To access all of IAC's print resources, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/printmaterials

The website of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has a toolkit containing Internet links to numerous resources that promote annual influenza vaccination of healthcare personnel. Titled "Health Care Personnel Initiative to Improve Influenza Vaccination Toolkit," this resource is intended to give healthcare organizations, professional schools, professional organizations, and leaders valuable information that they can pass along to their colleagues and employees. The Internet materials that are included were chosen because of their proven success and novel approaches to prevention of and education about influenza and influenza vaccination.

To access the toolkit, go to:
http://www.hhs.gov/ophs/programs/initiatives/vacctoolkit

The website of the Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition (CIIC) recently posted an article published in the July 2008 issue of the newsletter of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN). The article, titled "Influenza: Keeping Schools Healthy Through Education and Vaccination," was written by CIIC moderator Carol J. Baker, MD, and CIIC member representative and NASN nursing education director Nichole Bobo, RN, MSN. It discusses the key roles that school nurses play in encouraging influenza vaccination among school students and staff.

To access the article, go to: http://www.preventchildhoodinfluenza.org/news and scroll down to the article title.

The Immunization Coalitions Technical Assistance Network (IZTA) conference call on August 19 will provide an overview of CDC's plans for communicating about influenza vaccine in the 2008-09 influenza season. It will also include a discussion of the CDC educational materials that will be available to assist U.S. communities in promoting influenza vaccination. IZTA is a program of the Center for Health Communication, Academy for Educational Development.

The presenter is CDC's Alan Janssen, MSPH.

The August 19 call will be held at 1PM, ET. To register, send an email to izta@aed.org Include this message: "Sign me up for the influenza communications update."

To access earlier programs, go to:
http://www.izta.org/confcall.cfm

Scheduled from noon to 2PM ET on August 28, the webcast "Immunization Update 2008" will provide up-to-date information on the rapidly changing field of immunization. Anticipated topics include influenza and zoster vaccines, recently approved vaccines, and updates on vaccine supplies and vaccine safety.

The course instructors include William L. Atkinson, MD, MPH; Donna L. Weaver, MN, RN; Andrew T. Kroger, MD, MPH, and guest experts. All are with the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

To access the webcast, go to: http://www2a.cdc.gov/PHTN/webcast/immupdate2008 A replay of this program will be available through the URL above shortly after the August 28 webcast.

Note: There will NOT be a satellite broadcast of this program, as there was in previous years.

Registration is not required. HOWEVER, ONLINE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO RECEIVE CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS. To register, go to: http://www2a.cdc.gov/TCEOnline

Continuing Education for this activity will open on August 28 and expire on September 29. For full accreditation statements, including information about pharmacy credit, go to: http://www2.cdc.gov/phtn/immupdate2008

The next "Current Issues in Immunization" net conference will be held on September 18 from noon to 1PM ET. Moderated by CDC's Andrew T. Kroger, MD, MPH, the net conference will focus on the seasonal influenza recommendations for 2008-09.

Registration is limited and will close on September 16 (at midnight ET) or when the course is full. To register, go to: http://www2.cdc.gov/vaccines/ed/ciinc

The Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is sponsoring a one-day symposium for health professionals on September 27. The program includes the following topics:

• Vaccine safety
• HIV vaccine development
• Mandating influenza vaccine
• Mandating HPV vaccine
• The role and need for mandates
• Influenza vaccine: Moving toward universal recommendations
• Communicating science to the public: Lessons learned from the vaccines and autism controversy

To access a ready-to-print (PDF) version of the symposium brochure, go to:
http://www.chop.edu/cme/2008/vec/pdf/vaccine_cme08.pdf

To have a brochure mailed to you, phone (215) 590-5263 or fax (215) 590-4342.

To register for the symposium, go to: https://www.chop.edu/cme/2008/vec/regis.cfm#form The registration deadline is September 15.

For additional information, contact CHOP's Continuing Medical Education Department at (215) 590-5263 or visit http://www.chop.edu/cme

On August 11, FDA issued a supplement to its approval of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (Viread; Gilead). The drug is now indicated for use in treating chronic hepatitis B infection in adults. Previously, it was approved only for treating HIV infection.

To access the approval letter, go to:
http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/appletter/2008/021356s025ltr.pdf

To access the package insert posted on the Gilead website, go to: http://www.gileadhiv.com/pdf/VireadFPI.pdf

The National Institute of Health's (NIH) Consensus Development Conference on the Management of Hepatitis B will be held October 20-22, in Bethesda, MD. This conference is sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Office of Medical Applications of Research.

Speakers and attendees at this conference will discuss issues related to the benefits and risks of current therapeutic options for HBV infection, including which persons should be treated, what measures are appropriate to monitor therapy and assess outcomes, and what the greatest needs are for future research.

For more information, including the preliminary agenda, go to:
http://consensus.nih.gov/2008/2008HepatitisBCDC120main.htm