On March 2, CDC posted provisional recommendations for use of inactivated influenza vaccines during the 2010-11 U.S. influenza season. Posted on the ACIP web section, provisional recommendations are those ACIP has voted on but that are not yet approved by CDC or the Department of Health and Human Services and have not yet been published in MMWR. The tentative publication of these recommendations in MMWR is June 2010.

In the provisional recommendations, ACIP recommends that beginning in the 2010-11 influenza season, all people ages 6 months and older receive annual influenza vaccination.

To access the complete inactivated influenza vaccines provisional recommendations, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/provisional/downloads/flu-vac-mar-2010-508.pdf

All provisional ACIP recommendations can be found at
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/provisional

To access all final ACIP recommendations, go to: http://www.immunize.org/acip IAC's ACIP web section allows visitors to sort documents by date, vaccine, and topic. Bookmark this link for easy access to all provisional and final ACIP recommendations.

On March 3, CDC posted provisional recommendations for use of 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) in infants and children. Posted on the ACIP web section, provisional recommendations are those ACIP has voted on but that are not yet approved by CDC or the Department of Health and Human Services and have not yet been published in MMWR. The scheduled publication date of these recommendations in MMWR is March 12, 2010.

In the provisional recommendations, ACIP recommends PCV13 for all children ages 2 through 59 months and for children ages 60 through 71 months who have underlying medical conditions that increase their risk of pneumococcal disease or complications.

To access the complete PCV13 provisional recommendations, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/provisional/downloads/pcv13-mar-2010-508.pdf

All provisional ACIP recommendations can be found at
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/provisional

To access all final ACIP recommendations, go to: http://www.immunize.org/acip IAC's ACIP web section allows visitors to sort documents by date, vaccine, and topic. Bookmark this link for easy access to all provisional and final ACIP recommendations.

On March 1, CDC published two VISs--one for each of the two Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccines licensed for use in the United States. One VIS is intended for use when administering Ixiaro (Intercell Biomedical) and the other when administering JE-VAX (sanofi pasteur). Ixiaro is intended for use in people ages 17 years and older in certain situations. JE-VAX is the only JE vaccine licensed for use in children and adolescents younger than age 17 years in certain situations.

To access the 3/1/10 VIS for Ixiaro Japanese encephalitis vaccine from the IAC website, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vis/je_ixiaro.pdf

To access the 3/1/10 VIS for JE-VAX Japanese encephalitis vaccine from the IAC website, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vis/je_vax.pdf

For information about the use of VISs, and for VISs in more than 35 languages, visit IAC's VIS web section at http://www.immunize.org/vis

For general information about VISs from CDC's website go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis

IAC encourages qualifying healthcare organizations to apply for its Honor Roll for Patient Safety. Since February 22, when IAC Express last reported on the Honor Roll for Patient Safety, two hospitals 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.

The hospitals that have joined since February 22 are Petaluma Valley Hospital, Petaluma, CA, and Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, Santa Rosa, CA. The addition of these two healthcare organizations brings the total number of enrolled institutions and medical practices to 49.

To be included in the honor roll, an 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.

To find out specific information on the mandates of the enrolled organizations, go to: http://www.immunize.org/laws/influenzahcw.asp This web page also includes information about how to apply to be included on the honor roll.

On February 22, FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee selected the influenza viruses for the composition of the influenza vaccine for the 2010-11 U.S. influenza season. The committee recommended that influenza vaccines contain the following:

• An A/California/7/09 (H1N1)-like virus; *
• An A/Perth /16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus; **
• A B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus. ***

The influenza vaccine composition to be used in the 2010-11 influenza season in the U.S. is identical to that recommended by the World Health Organization for use during the northern hemisphere 2010-11 influenza season.

* A/California/7/09 (H1N1)-like virus is the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus. A monovalent vaccine containing this strain was made available to the United States in fall 2009.

** A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus is a change from the 2009-10 influenza vaccine formulation.

*** B/Brisbane /60/2008-like virus is a current vaccine virus.

To access an FDA statement about the viruses selected for influenza vaccines to be used in the U.S. during the 2010-11 influenza season, click here.

IAC encourages IAC Express readers to watch a 2-minute animated video that presents the benefits of influenza vaccination from a child's perspective. Fast-paced, fact-packed, and fun, the video was developed by Families Fighting Flu.

The video will be available on the home page of IAC's website through March 14. 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

Please continue to vaccinate patients against H1N1 influenza. Providers who don't have H1N1 influenza vaccine can direct patients to the Google Flu Shot Finder at http://www.google.com/flushot

CDC, in collaboration with the American Academy of Family Physicians and American Academy of Pediatrics, has developed a web section titled Provider Resources for Vaccine Conversations with Parents. It houses materials that can help providers talk with parents about vaccination, as well as fact sheets for providers and parents.

Chief among the materials for providers is a 4-page document, "Talking with Parents about Vaccines for Infants," that offers communication strategies for successful vaccine conversations with parents and caregivers. To access it, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/hcp/downloads/talk-infants-bw-office.pdf

"If You Choose Not to Vaccinate Your Child, Understand the Risks and Responsibilities" is a 2-page fact sheet. To access it, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/hcp/downloads/not-vacc-risks-bw-office.pdf

"Understanding MMR Vaccine Safety," is a 2-page fact sheet for providers and parents. To access it, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/hcp/downloads/vacsafe-mmr-bw-office.pdf

"Measles," a 2-page fact sheet for parents, describes measles symptoms and the benefits and risks of vaccination. It also includes a real-life account about an infant who contracted measles. To access it, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/hcp/downloads/dis-measles-bw-office.pdf

The Provider Resources for Vaccine Conversations with Parents web section is a work in progress, with many more materials planned for inclusion. To access the web section, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/hcp/conversations.htm

In the March 1 issue of IAC Express, we inadvertently stated that the newly licensed 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV 13; Prevnar 13) is indicated for children ages 6 months through 5 years. The accurate age indication is 6 weeks through 5 years.

We regret the error and any confusion it may have caused IAC Express readers.

CDC published "Respiratory Syncytial Virus Activity--United States, July 2008-December 2009" in the March 5 issue of MMWR. A portion of a summary made available to the press is reprinted below.

The National Immunization Conference is scheduled for April 19-22 in Atlanta. The regular registration fee is $250, a $25 savings off the on-site registration fee of $275. The deadline for regular registration is April 2. To register online, go to: http://conferences.taskforce.org/nic10

To get yourself primed for the conference, check out the draft conference agenda. It gives links to abstracts of the presentations that will be made during the conference. To access the abstracts, go to:
http://cdc.confex.com/cdc/nic2010/webprogram/meeting.html

For complete conference details, go to the conference home page at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/nic

For additional information, contact the Conference Planning Team at (404) 639-8225 or at nipnic@cdc.gov

In February, the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) published its "Strategic Plan for 2010-2015." The plan articulates a vision and overarching goals and strategies to guide and enhance NCHHSTP's programs to prevent HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and tuberculosis (TB) infections.

To access the plan, click here.

The Confederation of Meningitis Organizations (CoMO) urges healthcare professionals, meningitis advocates, and others to join hands on April 24 to make World Meningitis Day a day of action to raise awareness about meningitis and septicemia.

To find out more about World Meningitis Day, go to:
http://www.comoonline.org/wmd.html

To join in a virtual community against meningitis, go to:
http://www.comoonline.org/JoiningHands.aspx

Formed in 2004, CoMO now comprises 26 members and associate members from 19 countries around the world.

To access the CoMO website, go to: http://www.comoonline.org

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases' (NFID) Annual Conference on Vaccine Research, the largest scientific forum devoted exclusively to the research and development of vaccines and related technologies for prevention and treatment of disease through immunization, will be held April 26-28 in Bethesda, MD. The early registration deadline is March 15.

For conference details, including online registration, go to: http://www.nfid.org/conferences/vaccine10

For more information, contact the conference planners at (301) 656-0003 or vaccine@nfid.org