The June 2010 issue of Vaccinate Adults has just been placed online at http://www.immunize.org/va/va28.pdf

This issue emphasizes the importance of vaccinating healthcare personnel against influenza. Note: Vaccinate Adults shares identical content with Needle Tips (which was published one week earlier) except that the pediatric information has been removed.

Here are some of the features included in the issue:

• Ask the Experts: CDC Immunization Experts Answer Your Questions
• Vaccine Highlights: Recommendations, Schedules, and More
• Vaccinations for Adults--You're NEVER Too Old to Get Immunized!
• Vaccine Refrigerator Setup, a resource from the California Department of Public Health
• Monthly Care of Vaccine Storage Units, a resource from the California Department of Public Health
• First Do No Harm--Protect Patients by Making Sure All Staff Receive Yearly Influenza Vaccine
• Honor Roll for Patient Safety (institutions that mandate influenza vaccination for healthcare workers)

To access the Vaccinate Adults web page, go to: http://www.immunize.org/va There you will find a table of contents for viewing and printing individual sections of the June issue. Back issues are accessible from this page as well.

To download a PDF of the entire 10-page June issue right now, go to: http://www.immunize.org/va/va28.pdf

The June 2010 issue of Needle Tips is available online for viewing, downloading, and printing. The issue emphasizes the importance of vaccinating healthcare personnel against influenza.

To download the entire issue right now, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/nslt.d/n45/n45.pdf

Complete information about this issue of Needle Tips is available at http://www.immunize.org/nt There you will find a link for displaying and printing the entire 14-page PDF of the issue, along with a table of contents for viewing and printing individual sections of Needle Tips.

On June 23, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a press release titled "Whooping Cough Epidemic May Be Worst in 50 Years." A portion of it is reprinted below. (Note: At the end of this IAC Express article you will find links to pertussis resources posted on the websites of the California Department of Public Health and Immunization Action Coalition.)

Resources from the Immunization Action Coalition: To access a range of pertussis-related resources (e.g., VISs, standing orders), go to: http://www.immunize.org/handouts/pertussis-vaccines.asp

IAC recently revised the following three handouts for healthcare professionals and their patients.

(1) The popular "Screening Questionnaire for Child and Teen Immunization" makes it easy for healthcare professionals to screen for vaccine contraindications. It was updated to reflect recent changes in recommendations regarding contraindications. Go to: http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4060.pdf

(2) IAC made minor changes to the professional handout "Hepatitis B Facts: Testing and Vaccination." Go to: http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2110.pdf

(3) IAC added a resource to "If You Have Chronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Infection." This handout gives patients basic information on taking care of themselves and protecting others from becoming infected. Go to: http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4120.pdf

IAC's Handouts for Patients and Staff web section offers healthcare professionals and the public approximately 250 FREE English-language handouts (many also available in translation), which we encourage website users to print out, copy, and distribute widely. To access all of IAC's free handouts, go to: http://www.immunize.org/handouts

IAC's online "Ask the Experts" Q&A section about human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and disease was recently updated with input from vaccination experts at CDC. IAC's "Ask the Experts" Q&As are reviewed and updated annually. The process is ongoing; IAC Express will inform readers as sections are reviewed and revised.

To access the revised HPV Q&As, go to: http://www.immunize.org/askexperts/experts_hpv.asp

To access the index page of "Ask the Experts" Q&As for all other vaccines, go to: http://www.immunize.org/askexperts

IAC encourages readers to watch a 2-minute animated video from the National Institutes of Health that presents an overview of the immune system. It includes an explanation of the role of lymphocytes, specialized white blood cells that adapt themselves to fight specific foreign invaders.

The video will be available on the home page of IAC's website through July 4. To access it, go to: http://www.immunize.org and click on the image under the words Video of the Week.

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

Since its 2002 launch date, IAC's Directory of Immunization Coalitions website (http://www.izcoalitions.org) has posted information from 182 immunization coalitions. The site includes data from coalitions at all levels (local, state, regional, and national) and of all types, vaccine-specific as well as age-specific (childhood, adult, senior).

This online database allows health professionals, immunization advocates, parents, and others to contact specific coalitions to find resources, share ideas, and form strategic partnerships. Searches can be done by coalition name or geographic area.

Be sure your coalition is part of this powerful web-based networking tool by checking for your coalition's listing. If your coalition is not listed, sign up today. If your coalition is already displayed but information about your coalition has changed, be sure to update your listing to help us keep izcoalitions.org current and accurate.

To look for your coalition on the Directory of Immunization Coalitions website, go to: http://www.izcoalitions.org

If you have questions or difficulties updating your coalition's information, send an email to Janelle at janelle@immunize.org or call her at (651) 647-9009.

Dated 5/21/10, the VIS for the measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine is now available in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. IAC gratefully acknowledges the California Department of Public Health, Immunization Branch, for the translations.

To access the new translations of the VIS for MMRV vaccine, as well as the MMRV vaccine VIS in English and other translations, go to: http://www.immunize.org/vis/vis_mmrv.asp

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

Launched in mid-June, the Real Guys Immunize Campaign gives dads the impetus and tools they need to take action to protect themselves and their families from vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs). The U.S. is seeing a level of VPDs that we haven't seen in decades--the pertussis epidemic in California is proof of that (see article #3 in this IAC Express issue). That's why it's so important for dads to play their part in making sure they and their family are fully immunized.

The Real Guys Immunize website includes these web sections:

• iHerd--counters common myths dads may have heard about vaccines
   
• Captain's Corner--lets dads share how they or men they know have turned to vaccines to protect those they love
   
• Resources--gives dads access to immunization information that has appeared in the popular media

Website visitors are encouraged to view the video on the Real Guys Immunize home page and to follow Real Guys Immunize on Facebook and Twitter.

To access the home page, go to: http://www.vaccinatenow.org/realguysimmunize

The "CDC Features" web section includes "Tetanus: Make Sure You and Your Child Are Fully Immunized." It gives parents information about tetanus, the vaccine that protects against it, and the need for lifetime booster doses.

To access "Tetanus: Make Sure You and Your Child Are Fully Immunized," go to: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Tetanus

To access an index of "CDC Features," go to: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Archive

CDC published "Summary of Notifiable Diseases--United States, 2008" in the June 25 issue of MMWR Summary of Notifiable Diseases.

The 100-page summary has three primary sections. They are Part 1: Summaries of Notifiable Diseases in the United States, 2008; Part 2: Graphs and Maps for Selected Notifiable Diseases in the United States, 2008; and Part 3: Historical Summaries of Notifiable Diseases in the United States, 1975-2008.

The opening paragraph of the preface follows.

To access the complete summary in web-text (HTML) format, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5754a1.htm

The CDC website recently posted the minutes of ACIP's February 24-25 meeting. To access a ready-to-print (PDF) version of the minutes, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/acip/downloads/min-feb10.pdf

To access information on past and upcoming ACIP meetings, including meeting agendas, minutes, registration, presentation slides, and meeting dates, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/acip/meetings.htm

PKIDs (Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases) has scheduled a one-hour webinar for June 29. Titled "Time to Get Wet: How to make a splash for public health using 'old' and 'new' media," the webinar will outline how British Columbia's ImmunizeBC group has used traditional and new media in several immunization education campaigns. The webinar is part of Communications Made Easy, a PKIDS' program intended to help immunization educators learn the ropes of social marketing and traditional and social media.

"Time to Get Wet" is scheduled for June 29 at 9AM Pacific Time (noon Eastern Time). Space is limited and pre-registration is recommended. To register, go to: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/schedule/display.do?udc=yfmr7qbpwpg8

For more information on the Communications Made Easy program, go to: http://www.pkids.org/cme

Organized by Cambridge Healthtech Institute, the Immunotherapeutics & Vaccine Summit will take place on August 17-19 in Cambridge, MA. For comprehensive information on the summit, go to: http://www.healthtech.com/imt/overview.aspx

For online registration, go to: https://chidb.com/register/2010/imt/reg.asp