To access this "Dear Colleague" letter in PDF format, including signatures, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/influenza_and_pregnancy_letter.pdf

On September 17, CDC posted "Prevention Strategies for Seasonal Influenza in Healthcare Settings" on its Seasonal Influenza website. This guidance supersedes previous CDC guidance for both seasonal influenza and the Interim Guidance on Infection Control Measures for 2009 H1N1 Influenza in Healthcare Settings, which was written to apply uniquely to the special circumstances of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic as they existed in October 2009.

To access this document, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/infectioncontrol_seasonalflu_ICU2010.pdf

Be sure to turn the pages of your newspaper to Dear Abby's column on Monday, September 27. The column is scheduled to publish a letter from Dr. Deborah Wexler, executive director of the Immunization Action Coalition, urging everyone 6 months and older to get vaccinated against influenza this year.

From IAC's past experience being published in Dear Abby's column, we want to alert immunization providers that they may get a number of phone calls from people seeking appointments for influenza vaccination after the column is published.

If possible, we would appreciate your clipping the September 27 column from your newspaper (including the headline, name, and location of the newspaper) and faxing or mailing it to us. We'd like to see the different headlines various papers generate for the column.

Our fax number is (651) 647-9131; our mailing address is Immunization Action Coalition, 1573 Selby Ave., Ste. 234, St. Paul, MN 55104. Thank you for your help with this.

To access the full article in web-text (HTML) format, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5936a2.htm

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Immunization Branch, recently updated its award-winning training video, "Immunization Techniques: Best Practices with Infants, Children, and Adults." The 25-minute program can be used to train new employees and to refresh the skills of experienced staff. The video demonstrates the skills and techniques needed to administer vaccines to patients of all ages. It includes instruction on the following:

• Selecting, preparing, and administering injectable, oral, and nasal vaccines
   
• Documenting immunizations
   
• Making patients comfortable and educating them
   
• Facilitating staff and patient communication

Prices start at $17 each for 1-9 copies and are greatly reduced for large orders, dropping to $4.25 each for 1,000-1,500 copies.

To learn more about the DVD, and find out how to order it, go to: http://www.immunize.org/shop/toolkit_iztechdvd.asp

For quotes on larger quantities, call (651) 647-9009 or email admininfo@immunize.org

The Immunization Action Coalition is the only nationwide vendor of this new DVD.

Note for healthcare settings located in California: Contact your local health department immunization program for a free copy

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

(1) IAC updated "Standing Orders for Administering Rotavirus Vaccine to Children" to add severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) as a contraindication. Go to: http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3087.pdf

(2) IAC updated "Standing Orders for Administering Meningococcal Vaccine to Children & Teens" to take into account the licensing of Menveo, and to change the abbreviation of MCV4 to the preferred MenACWY. Go to: http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3081a.pdf

(3) IAC updated "Standing Orders for Administering Meningococcal Vaccine to Adults" to take into account the licensing of Menveo, and to change the abbreviation of MCV4 to the preferred MenACWY. Go to: http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p3081.pdf

To access a table with links to all IAC's standing orders protocols for vaccine administration and medical management of vaccine reactions, as well as guidance for newborn-nursery hepatitis B vaccination, go to: http://www.immunize.org/standing-orders

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

To access a table with links to IAC's Q&A handouts for each vaccine, go to: http://www.immunize.org/handouts/vaccine-questions.asp

Did you know that you can earn continuing education credits (e.g., CMEs, CNEs, CEUs) by reading almost any recent ACIP statement and completing a short quiz? The Continuing Education Opportunities section on immunize.org includes lists for 15 sources of continuing education activities about immunization for nurses, physicians, pharmacists, and allied health professionals. Most activities are offered free of charge.

Along with a link to CDC's MMWR continuing education program, IAC's listing of educational opportunities for health professionals includes links to the agency's vaccine education and training website and Public Health Training Network. Also, find free courses from California Distance Learning Health Network, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates and Practitioners (NAPNAP), Vaccine Quarterly, and many more.

Browse IAC's selection of continuing education offerings on immunization for health professionals and explore ongoing and new opportunities to earn free CE credits: http://www.immunize.org/resources/contedu.asp

If you have additional continuing education opportunities to recommend for inclusion on immunize.org, please send your suggestion(s) by email to maryq@immunize.org

In addition to the Continuing Education Opportunities listing, IAC's online compendium of immunization resources includes descriptions and links for the following sections: Books and Periodicals, CDC Materials, Email News Services, Government Agencies, Hotlines, Partner Organizations, International Organizations, Vaccine Manufacturers and Package Inserts. To access these sections, go to http://www.immunize.org/resources

IAC encourages IAC Express readers to watch a 7-minute video on the H1N1 influenza epidemic. Titled "H1N1 Influenza in Review: The HHS Response," this video reviews the U.S. government's coordinated response that helped save lives and limit the impact of the outbreak.

The video will be available on the home page of IAC's website through September 26. 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

The 2010-11 VISs for trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV; injectable) and live attenuated intranasal influenza vaccine (LAIV; nasal spray) are now available in Bengali, Chinese, French, Korean, Romanian, Russian, Somali, Urdu, and Vietnamese. IAC gratefully acknowledges the Oregon Immunization Program for the Chinese, Korean, Romanian, Russian, Somali, and Vietnamese translations and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for the Bengali, French, and Urdu versions.

The TIV VIS is also available in Thai, thanks to Asian Pacific Health Care Venture, Inc., Los Angeles, CA.

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

To access the new translation of the VIS for nasal-spray influenza vaccine, as well as the nasal-spray influenza vaccine VIS in English and other translations, go to: http://www.immunize.org/vis/vis_flu_live.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

On August 26, the School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York, co-sponsored a webcast on proper vaccine storage and handling titled "Protecting your Vaccine: Protecting your Patients." The course content is now available online, including handouts.

After taking the course participants will be able to:

• Identify the financial and practical costs of vaccine mishandling
   
• Explain the roles and responsibilities of nurses in protecting vaccines from storage errors and mishandling
   
• Identify critical components of a vaccine storage and handling emergency plan

There is no charge to access the archived version of the course. Continuing education credit is available.

To access "Protecting your Vaccine: Protecting your Patients" online, go to: http://www.albany.edu/sph/coned/phl/protect.htm

The Virtual Immunization Communication Network (VICNetwork) is a partnership between the National Public Health Information Coalition and the California Immunization Coalition. The VICNetwork strives to educate local and national health organizations, coalitions, and public health departments about effective immunization communication strategies, the importance of utilizing new media technologies to convey consistent immunization messages, and current immunization issues.

The VICNetwork recently launched a new website that includes information about upcoming events, archived webinars, and other resources. To visit, go to: http://vicnetwork.org

GTCbio will present its 8th annual "Vaccines: All Things Considered" conference in Washington, DC, on November 8-9. The conference presents updates on vaccine development, including research, manufacturing, regulations, investment, and policy.

For more information, go to: http://gtcbio.com/conferenceDetails.aspx?id=166

To access information on upcoming conferences that concern vaccines, visit IAC's Calendar of Events at http://www.immunize.org/calendar