IAC Express 2010

CDC published "Announcement: World Pneumonia Day--November 12, 2010" in the November 5 issue of MMWR. It is reprinted below in its entirety.

To access the announcement in web-text (HTML) format, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5943a6.htm

IAC encourages IAC Express readers to watch a 1-minute public service announcement (PSA) featuring Grey's Anatomy star Kevin McKidd. As spokesperson for World Pneumonia Day, McKidd brings attention to pneumonia, the number-one killer of young children in the developing world.

The PSA will be available on the home page of IAC's website through November 14. To access it, go to: http://www.immunize.org and click on the image under the words Video of the Week. After November 14, access the PSA at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl0t8QSdg3I

To learn more about pneumococcal disease and World Pneumonia Day, go to: http://worldpneumoniaday.org

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

IAC encourages qualifying healthcare organizations to apply for its Honor Roll for Patient Safety. The honor roll recognizes hospitals, medical practices, professional organizations, and government entities that have taken a stand for patient safety by strengthening their mandatory influenza vaccination policies for healthcare workers.

Ninety organizations are now enrolled.

Since October 18, when IAC Express last reported on the Honor Roll for Patient Safety, some new entries have been made:

(1) An updated position statement from the American College of Physicians (ACP) titled "ACP Policy on Influenza Vaccination of Health Care Workers" was added to the honor roll's collection of position statements. ACP joins five other professional associations in instituting mandatory influenza vaccination policies for healthcare workers.

To read the ACP policy statement, go to: http://www.acponline.org/clinical_information/resources/adult_immunization/flu_hcw.pdf

To access the position statements of the other five professional associations included on the honor roll, go to: http://www.immunize.org/honor-roll Scroll down to the subhead titled Position Statements Endorsing Strong Mandates for Healthcare Workers.

(2) Two institutions and one medical practice have enrolled. The latest additions to the honor roll are Primary Health Medical Group, Meridian, ID; St. Francis Medical Center, Trenton, NJ; and Wellmont Heath System, Kingsport, TN.

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 specific information on the mandates of the enrolled organizations or to submit your organization's application for the honor roll, go to: http://www.immunize.org/honor-roll

Looking for a one-stop shop for official recommendations and authoritative information about vaccines? Look no further. IAC's Vaccine Policy and Licensing web section provides up-to-date links to information from CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Food and Drug Administration, Institute of Medicine, and World Health Organization.

The vaccine-related recommendations, policy statements, product approvals, publications, and position statements from the previously mentioned organizations can be accessed by year of publication, by vaccine, or by topic area. To access IAC's section on Vaccine Policy and Licensure, visit http://www.immunize.org/vacpolicy

For quick access to each section, use these handy quick links:

• ACIP: http://www.immunize.org/acip
• AAP: http://www.immunize.org/aap
• FDA: http://www.immunize.org/fda
• IOM: http://www.immunize.org/iom
• WHO: http://www.immunize.org/who

In response to some anti-vaccine activists taking it upon themselves to declare the first week of November as "Vaccine Awareness Week," the bloggers at Science-Based Medicine (SBM) have decided to put together their own science-based vaccine awareness week. To that end, they and many of their fellow science bloggers have amassed as many science-based posts about vaccines and public health as they can find.

To read the posts, go to SBM's Vaccine Awareness web section: http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/SBM-VaccineAwareness

An independent endeavor of several physicians, SBM is involved in exploring issues and controversies in the relationship between science and medicine.

To access SBM's home page, go to: http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org

A webinar, "Making the CASE for Vaccine Safety: A New Model for Communicating with Parents," is scheduled for December 9 from noon-1:00 pm Eastern time. The speaker is Alison Singer, MBA, founder and president of the Autism Science Foundation (ASF). This program will focus on the science of autism and the latest research regarding autism. It will also address barriers to communication, the top parental concerns regarding vaccines, and how to address these concerns using the CASE method.

The webinar is sponsored by the School of Public Health, State University of New York, Albany.

To register, go to: http://www.informz.net/ualbany-sph/event.asp?eid=3841

For assistance, contact Sue Brooks at (518) 486-6453 or at coned@albany.edu

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.

CDC recently re-launched its rotavirus web section, giving it a new look and adding updated information for the public and clinicians. Information for the public includes material about the disease, symptoms, vaccine, and treatment, some of which is available in Spanish as well as English. Information for clinicians includes material on the disease's clinical and epidemiologic features, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, as well as textbooks and publications. Some clinical information is available in Spanish.

To visit the updated rotavirus web section, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/rotavirus

On November 3, CDC posted information for healthcare professionals titled "Statement Regarding Rotarix and RotaTeq Rotavirus Vaccines and Intussusception." To access it, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/rotavirus/intussusception-studies-acip.htm

To aid in efforts to vaccinate against influenza, the Immunization Action Coalition is inviting IAC Express readers to place orders now for bulk quantities of the National Influenza Vaccine Summit's 2010-11 Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Pocket Information Guides. They're free--you can order them in the hundreds or thousands!

These laminated, 3.75 x 6.75-inch, 2-color cards serve as a convenient reference for front-line healthcare professionals who vaccinate patients. The cards provide the following information:

• Indications, contraindications, and precautions for the injectable and intranasal seasonal influenza vaccines
• Clear direction regarding which children need 2 doses of influenza vaccine this year
• Dosage, route of administration, and indicated age group for all the various seasonal influenza vaccine products
• Talking points for discussing seasonal influenza vaccination with patients

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

These pocket guides also serve as a reminder to keep giving seasonal influenza vaccine throughout influenza season (through the spring months).

The Summit is also pleased to be able to offer 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

Each of these pocket guides is designed to be used by healthcare professionals only; THEY ARE NOT PATIENT HANDOUTS.

HOW TO ORDER
Place your order at http://www.preventinfluenza.org/pocketguides There is no cost for the pocket guides, shipping, or handling within the U.S. They're going fast, so to avoid disappointment, place your order ASAP!

If you have questions, email admininfo@immunize.org

BACKGROUND
These pocket guides were developed by, and are being provided under the sponsorship of the National Influenza Vaccine Summit, http://www.preventinfluenza.org The Summit brings together public and private stakeholders to facilitate and promote influenza vaccination. The pocket guides are also distributed by many major medical, nursing, and pharmacist organizations, specialty societies, state health departments, Indian Health Service Area facilities, quality improvement organizations, visiting nurse associations, community vaccinators, and many others.

Thanks for your dedication to immunization, and don't forget to keep vaccinating against seasonal influenza through the spring months!

CDC published "Outbreaks Following Wild Poliovirus Importations--Europe, Africa, and Asia, January 2009-September 2010" in the November issue of MMWR. The first paragraph is reprinted below.

To access the full article in web-text (HTML) format, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5943a1.htm

On October 29, CDC published a large-print version of the 2010-11 VIS for trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV; injectable). The intent is to make the VIS easier for elderly patients to read. The large-print version occupies four pages, instead of the usual two, but is otherwise identical to the standard version.

To access the large-print version, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-flu-largetype.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

The current VIS for pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV) is now available in Korean. IAC gratefully acknowledges the California Department of Public Health, Immunization Branch, for the translations.

To access the Korean translation of the VIS for PPSV vaccine, as well as the PPSV vaccine VIS in English and other translations, go to: http://www.immunize.org/vis/vis_ppsv.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

PKIDs (Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases) has scheduled seven new webinars for November and December. These include some on using social media in health communications and in nonprofit communications.

Simple registration (free) is all that's required to learn more about the webinars, to register for them, and to watch archived webinars. To register, go to http://network.pkids.org or http://www.pkids.org/cme