All of us at IAC wish the readers of IAC Express a safe,
happy, and relaxing holiday season.

On December 15, CDC's Health Alert Network issued a CDC Health Update titled "Non-Safety Related Voluntary Recall of Certain Lots of Sanofi Pasteur H1N1 Pediatric (0.25 mL, for 6-35 month olds) Vaccine in Pre-Filled Syringes." The summary is reprinted below.

For more information, call CDC's toll-free information line, (800) CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) TTY: (888) 232-6348, which is available 24 hours a day, every day.

After speaking with the public at events across the nation, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) announced 20 recommendations for the National Vaccine Plan. Some key ideas include prioritizing the development of new vaccines, better engagement and communication with the public, and increased funding for vaccine programs that have not grown over the years such as the Immunization Safety Office.

The complete report is available online at
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12796

National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) is a national observance that was established to highlight the importance of continuing influenza vaccination, as well as to foster greater use of influenza vaccine into January and beyond. This year's NIVW (originally scheduled for December 6-10, 2009) is now rescheduled for January 10-16, 2010. Since 2009 H1N1 disease may continue into the new year, NIVW will be an important opportunity to maintain or increase the uptake of 2009 H1N1 flu vaccination at a time when demand for vaccine usually drops significantly.

For more information, including details about sharing your special NIVW events, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/nivw

IAC encourages qualifying healthcare organizations to apply for its Honor Roll for Patient Safety. Since November 23, when IAC Express last reported on the Honor Roll, two medical practices and two hospitals have been enrolled. The Honor Roll recognizes medical practices, hospitals, professional organizations, and government entities that have taken a stand for patient safety by strengthening mandatory influenza vaccination policies for healthcare workers.

Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to prevent influenza transmission in healthcare settings, but U.S. healthcare worker influenza vaccination rates have only reached 50 percent. Key elements of the stronger policies that have recently been initiated in some healthcare settings are the inclusion of barrier measures to prevent influenza transmission and the discontinuation of policies that allowed workers to exempt themselves from influenza vaccination because of their personal beliefs.

The hospitals and medical practices that have have been enrolled since November 23 are Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center,  Boise, Idaho; Swedish Medical Center, Englewood, CO; Laredo Pediatrics and Neonatology PA, Laredo, TX; and Sound Health Care Center, Port Orchard, WA. The addition of these four healthcare organizations brings the total number of enrolled hospitals, health systems, and medical practices to 37.

To find out specific information on the mandates of these organizations and previously enrolled organizations, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/laws/influenzahcw.asp

JOIN THE HONOR ROLL TODAY
To be included in the Honor Roll, your organization's mandate must require influenza vaccination for employees and must include serious measures to prevent transmission of influenza from unvaccinated workers to patients. Such measures might include a mask requirement, reassignment to non-patient-care duties, or dismissal of the employee.

Fill out this online form to tell IAC about influenza vaccination mandates in your healthcare setting:
http://www.immunize.org/laws/mandates.aspx

CDC advises healthcare professionals that during seasonal and H1N1 influenza outbreaks, all people who have existing indications for pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV) should be vaccinated according to current ACIP recommendations. This is important because people with existing indications are not only at increased risk for pneumococcal disease, but are also at increased risk for serious complications from influenza.

CDC has issued related guidance titled "Prevention of Pneumococcal Infections Secondary to Seasonal and 2009 H1N1 Influenza Viruses Infection." To access it, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/provider/provider_pneumococcal.htm

The next NCIRD live Net Conference will cover the 2010 U.S. immunization schedules for children and adults. The Net Conference is scheduled from noon to 1PM ET on January 28. William Atkinson, MD, MPH, will speak on "What's New on the Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedules," and Carol Friedman, DO, will address "What's New on the Adult Immunization Schedule." Dr. Andrew Kroger will moderate.

Participation in the Q&A section of the program is available by phone and Internet. This is a limited-entry event. Registration will close on January 26 or when the course is full.

To register, go to:
http://www2.cdc.gov/vaccines/ed/ciinc

IAC encourages IAC Express readers to watch an hour-long video titled "Living Proof: Why We Are Impatient Optimists." This presentation by Bill and Melinda Gates is a story about the millions of lives that have been saved, improved, and empowered because of the investments in global health made by the United States and its partners around the world.

Because of IAC's holiday schedule, the video will be available on the home page of IAC's website through January 3 (two weeks). To access it, go to: http://www.immunize.org and click on the image under the words Video of the Week. It may take a few moments for the video to begin playing; please be patient!

Remember to bookmark IAC's home page to view a new video every Monday. To view an IAC Video of the Week from the past, go to the video archive at http://www.immunize.org/votw

Titled, "I never get the flu," CDC's new 60-second public service announcement encourages H1N1 influenza vaccination.

To access this video on CDC's website, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/cdctv/inever This page includes information about how to download and share this resource.

To access this video on YouTube, go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3epSeOLDiY

For information on obtaining this PSA in broadcast quality format from CDC, contact Janine at (404) 553-8121.

HealthyWomen and the Association of Women's Health, Obstetrics and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) have launched a campaign to educate pregnant women on the importance of getting vaccinated against influenza.

The "Flu-Free and a Mom-to-Be" campaign aims to educate pregnant women and new mothers about the importance of influenza vaccination for themselves, their newborns, and their young children. These groups are especially vulnerable to H1N1 and seasonal influenza infection and related complications.

To download or order a "Flu-Free and a Mom-to-Be" tip card in English or Spanish, or to order a poster (English on one side, Spanish on the other), go to: http://www.healthywomen.org/publications These resources are available free of charge.

With vaccination against 2009 H1N1 influenza now underway, it is important to remember that seasonal influenza vaccination efforts must continue. To aid in these efforts, the Immunization Action Coalition is inviting IAC Express readers to place orders now for the National Influenza Vaccine Summit's laminated 2009-10 Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Pocket Information Guides. The pocket guides are the perfect size to fit in a lab coat pocket. And best of all--they're free!

See an image of the laminated seasonal influenza vaccine pocket guide at
http://www.preventinfluenza.org/fluguide/pocketguide_flu.pdf

For description of the content of the pocket guides and information on their background, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/express/issue833.asp#n16

The Summit is also pleased to be able to offer a companion piece to the laminated influenza pocket guides--free laminated pocket guides for the administration of pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV). See an image of the PPSV pocket guide at
http://www.immunize.org/ppvguide/pocketguide.pdf

HOW TO ORDER
Each order must be for a minimum of 100 pocket guides. Place your order at http://www.preventinfluenza.org/pocketguides There is no cost for the pocket guides, shipping, or handling within the U.S.

If you have questions, email admininfo@immunize.org

The December 18 issue of the WHO periodical "Weekly Epidemiological Record" includes an update to WHO's position paper on rotavirus vaccines, originally published in 2007. To access the updated position paper, go to:
http://www.who.int/wer/2009/wer8451_52.pdf

A collection of WHO position papers on vaccines is available in alphabetical order at
http://www.who.int/immunization/documents/positionpapers

They are available in chronological order on the IAC website at http://www.immunize.org/who

Fondation Merieux is organizing three conferences for early 2010 that may be of interest to IAC Express readers.

The "Christophe Merieux Conference: New Trends in Tumor Virology" will take place at Les Pensieres in Annecy, France, January 17-19.

"Vaccine development from bench to licensure towards large scale introduction--A meningococcal A conjugate vaccine for the African Meningitis Belt" will take place in Pune, India, February 10-12.

"The role of regulatory agencies on vaccine safety" will take place at Les Pensieres in Annecy, France, March 29-31.

For more information on any of these conferences, go to:
http://fondation-merieux.org

The 10th annual World Vaccine Congress will be held in Washington, DC, on April 19-22. The conference is intended for those in the vaccine industry. For more information, go to:
http://secure.terrapinnmedia.com/go.asp?/bTUK001/mDCIE61F/u8DPVSTC/xER4W61F