IAC has recently posted a new and important resource for healthcare professionals. Titled "Sample Vaccine Policy Statement--Ready for you to adapt for your practice," this piece gives professionals a template for creating a clear way to communicate a medical practice's strong support for childhood vaccination to the parents of their patients.

The Sample Vaccine Policy Statement is based on a statement developed by the clinicians at All Star Pediatrics, Lionville, PA. IAC has reformatted it and posted it on the IAC website as an MS Word document that can be downloaded and edited for your practice's use in developing its own policy.

IAC is grateful to All Star Pediatrics for its dedication to immunization, hard work in developing a policy statement, and generosity in making it available for other clinicians to use and adapt.

To access the statement in MS Word format, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2067.doc

The statement is also available in PDF format at
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2067.pdf

Amy Pisani, executive director of Every Child By Two (ECBT), recently called on the immunization community to contact the Oprah Winfrey Show to request that it devote an upcoming show to vaccine science. The text of Ms. Pisani's message is reprinted below in its entirety.

IAC recently revised its parent-education resource "Immunizations for Babies: A guide for parents--these are the vaccinations your baby needs!" and its professional-education resource "Guide to Contraindications and Precautions to Commonly Used Vaccines in Adults."

Updated information on rotavirus vaccine, influenza vaccine, and hepatitis A vaccine was added to "Immunizations for Babies: A guide for parents--these are the vaccinations your baby needs!" Please download the updated piece, make copies, and hand them out to your patients.

To access the updated piece, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4010.pdf

New information on zoster vaccine was added to "Guide to Contraindications and Precautions to Commonly Used Vaccines in Adults."

To access the updated piece, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3072.pdf

IAC's Print Materials web section offers healthcare professionals and the public more than 175 FREE, English-language materials (many also available in translation), which we encourage website users to print out, copy, and distribute widely. To access all of IAC's free print materials, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/printmaterials

National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) will take place the week of December 8-14. NIVW is designed to highlight the importance of continuing influenza vaccination, as well as to foster greater use of influenza vaccine through the months of November and December 2008 and into spring 2009.

Resources for NIVW
CDC updated its Seasonal Flu web section with resources intended to encourage public awareness of NIVW. These include resources for healthcare professionals and partners such as a media toolkit, podcasts, and e-cards; listings of state and national events and activities; an online submission form for listing your NIVW-related events; and free English- and Spanish-language badges, banners, and buttons to add to your website.

To access these resources, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/nivw

Other influenza resources
Since the beginning of October, CDC has updated many of its individual influenza materials, as well as its indexes of materials. They are listed chronologically on the web page titled "What's New on this Site." To access them, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/whatsnew.htm and click on the pertinent links.

The Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition (CIIC) recently updated its website with a selection of short videos intended to educate families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals about influenza and childhood vaccination. The videos are organized for two different audiences: (1) families and caregivers and (2) healthcare professionals. Each video features an acknowledged expert answering a question related to influenza and childhood vaccination.

To access videos intended for families and caregivers, click here.

To access videos tailored for healthcare professionals, click here.

To access a short video that covers only the most essential information on influenza and vaccination, click here.

CIIC was established by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Its members represent more than 25 of the nation's leading public health, medical, patient, and parent groups committed to protecting children's health and encouraging wellness.

To access the CIIC website's homepage, go to:
http://www.preventchildhoodinfluenza.org

Influenza vaccine for the 2008-09 influenza season is available. Vaccination should continue through the spring months of 2009. Visit the following websites often to find the information you need to keep vaccinating. Both are continually updated with the latest resources.

The National Influenza Vaccine Summit website at http://www.preventinfluenza.org

CDC's Seasonal Flu web section at http://www.cdc.gov/flu

November 14 is the deadline for submitting abstracts for CDC's 2009 National Immunization Conference, which will be held in Dallas, TX, on March 30-April 2, 2009. Abstracts must be submitted online. To access submission guidelines, go to: http://cdc.confex.com/cdc/nic2009/cfp.cgi

The deadline for early-bird registration ($225) is January 30. The deadline for regular registration ($250) is March 13. Late and on-site registration will be $275.

For general information on the 43rd National Immunization Conference, including conference goals, objectives, and registration, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/nic

Those without Internet access can contact the conference planning team at (404) 639-8225 or nipnic@cdc.gov