Immunization Works March 2016

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2016 Immunization Schedules: Every year, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) develops recommendations for routine use of vaccines in children/adolescents and adults. When adopted by the CDC Director, these recommendations become official CDC/HHS policy. The 2016 versions of the child and adolescent immunization schedule and the adult immunization schedule are now available on the NCIRD vaccines site.

CDC encourages organizations to syndicate content to share with online visitors rather than copy a PDF version of the schedule onto their websites. Content syndication allows organizations’ websites to mirror CDC web content, with automatic updates when changes are made to the immunization schedules at the CDC website. This helps ensure that all schedules are current across the Internet. Learn how easy it is to display the schedules on your site.

National Infant Immunization Week is April 16–23: National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) is fast approaching! NIIW is an annual observance to promote the benefits of childhood immunizations and improve the health of children 2 years old and younger. Since 1994, local and state health departments, national immunization partners, health care providers, community leaders, and clinicians from across the U.S., along with CDC, have come together during NIIW to highlight the impact of vaccination on the lives of infants and children. NIIW is also a great time to celebrate immunization achievements, recognize partners and volunteers, and revitalize community-level efforts. The recipients of the 2016 CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award will be announced and showcased on the NIIW Champions web page.

Visit the NIIW website to find promotional and educational materials to help you plan your NIIW activities and tailor them to the needs of your community. Let CDC know what you have planned by adding your event to the NIIW Event Registry.

47^th National Immunization Conference (NIC)—It Takes a Community: CDC and NCIRD will host the 47^th NIC September 13–15, 2016, at the Hilton Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. The NIC brings together a wide variety of local, state, federal, and private sector immunization partners to explore science, policy, education, and planning issues related to immunization and vaccine-preventable diseases.

The conference will have three plenary sessions, the Hilleman Lecture, 12 breakout sessions, exhibits, and posters, and will include the following topics:

Health and Risk Communication
Epidemiology and Surveillance
Immunization Information Systems (IIS)
Programmatic Issues
Adult Immunization
Child and Adolescent Immunization

Please visit the NIC web page for the agenda, registration, and additional information. Please contact the conference planning team if you have questions.

Progress Toward Measles Elimination in Nepal, 2007–2014: In 2013, the 66^th session of the Regional Committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region (SEAR) established a goal to eliminate measles and to control rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) in SEAR by 2020. Current recommended measles elimination strategies in the region include:

Achieving and maintaining more than 95% coverage with 2 doses of measles-containing vaccine (MCV) in every district, delivered through the routine immunization program or through supplementary immunization activities (SIAs).
Developing and sustaining a sensitive and timely measles case-based surveillance system that meets minimum recommended performance indicators.
Developing and maintaining an accredited measles laboratory network.
Achieving timely identification, investigation, and response to measles outbreaks.

In 2013, Nepal, one of the 11 SEAR member states, adopted a goal for national measles elimination by 2019. The March 4 MMWR updates a previous report and summarizes progress toward measles elimination in Nepal during 2007–2014.

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Influenza Information

Flu Season Update: The 2015–16 flu season is well underway. Influenza-like illness has been elevated for 9 consecutive weeks now. For the last 13 seasons, the average duration of a flu season by this measure has been 13 weeks, with a range from 1 week to 20 weeks. There are probably several more weeks of flu activity to come this season. If you or your patients haven’t been vaccinated yet, it’s not too late. CDC continues to recommend vaccination as long as flu viruses are circulating. Vaccination remains the first and most important step to prevent influenza. Vaccination can reduce flu illnesses, doctors’ visits, and absences from work and school due to flu, as well as prevent flu-related hospitalizations.

H1N1 flu viruses have been most common this season. This is the virus that emerged in 2009 and caused a pandemic. It has circulated globally as a human seasonal flu virus since that time, and has been associated with severe disease in some children, as well as in young and middle-aged adults. The good news is that all flu vaccines this season have an influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 component.

So far, surveillance data show that the flu viruses currently circulating, including H1N1 viruses, remain similar to the vaccine virus components. How similar circulating viruses are to the vaccine viruses is one factor that influences how well the flu vaccine works each year. In February, CDC reported that this season’s vaccine had been 60% effective in preventing medically attended influenza. Flu vaccines are made to protect against the three or four flu viruses (depending on which vaccine you get) that research suggests will be most common during the upcoming season.

Remember that it takes 2 weeks after vaccination for protection to begin. Protecting yourself from flu also protects the people around you who may be more vulnerable to serious flu illness. Pregnant women, babies, and people with asthma, for example, can suffer more serious flu illness and other complications. If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, you should get a flu vaccine now to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues, and your community against influenza.

Flu vaccines are offered by many doctor’s offices, clinics, health departments, pharmacies, health centers, and urgent care centers, as well as by many employers and schools, so you can get vaccinated even if you don’t have a regular doctor or nurse. Find a place near you to get flu and other recommended vaccines.

Antiviral drugs serve as a second line of defense against the flu for treatment of flu illness. Antiviral drugs can lessen symptoms and shorten the time that a patient is sick. They can also prevent serious flu complications. CDC recommends that people who are very sick with flu, or people who are at high risk of flu complications, should be treated as quickly as possible with flu antiviral drugs. Antiviral treatment works best when started early (within 2 days of getting sick). However, starting treatment later can still be helpful, especially if the person has a high-risk condition or is very sick from flu.

The three prescription antiviral medications recommended for treatment of influenza are oral oseltamivir (Tamiflu), inhaled zanamivir (Relenza), and intravenous peramivir (Rapivab). These drugs are chemically-related antiviral medications, known as neuraminidase inhibitors, that work against activity against both influenza A and B viruses. Decisions about starting antiviral treatment should not wait for test results or laboratory confirmation of influenza.

CDC Flu Selfie Campaign: Just a reminder to participate in CDC’s #VaxWithMe campaign. #VaxWithMe is a selfie social media campaign that encourages individuals to share photos and videos of themselves (tagged #VaxWithMe) while getting their flu vaccination. The campaign seeks to spark engagement around the importance of vaccination and to encourage more people to get their flu vaccination each year. CDC posts weekly updates to the interactive campaign timeline. To get involved, take a selfie while getting your flu vaccine and post it using the hashtag #VaxWithMe.

For more information about how serious flu can be and the benefits of flu vaccination, talk to your doctor or other health care professional, visit the CDC influenza website, or call 1-800-CDC-INFO.

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Resources and Information

Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, 13^th Edition (the Pink Book): CDC, NCIRD, and the Public Health Foundation (PHF) are pleased to announce that the book, Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, 13^th Edition, is available. The Pink Book provides public health and health care professionals with the most comprehensive information on vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases. The Pink Book is available for purchase from the PHF Learning Resource Center, and the chapters and appendices can be viewed/downloaded from the NCIRD vaccines site.

Current Issues in Immunization Netconferences: Immunization netconferences are live, one-hour presentations combining an online visual presentation with simultaneous audio via telephone conference call and a live question and answer session. Registration, Internet access, and a separate phone line are needed to participate. The latest netconference was March 16, 2016, and the topic was the 2016 children/adolescent and adult immunization schedules. Please visit the netconference web page for the archived webcasts, upcoming netconferences, and additional information.

You Call the Shots Modules: You Call the Shots is a web-based training course developed through the Project to Enhance Immunization Content in Nursing Education and Training. Several updated modules are now available, including Hepatitis B, Pneumococcal, and Meningococcal. Please visit the You Call the Shots web page for additional information and other modules. Continuing Education (CE) credit is available for viewing a module and completing an evaluation.

ACIP Meeting: The next ACIP meeting will be held June 22–23, 2016. Please visit the ACIP meeting web page for agendas, presentation slides, meeting minutes, and archived video broadcasts.

Measles Resources: CDC aims to continue increasing awareness of measles among individuals and families and to encourage MMR vaccination. To support disease prevention and vaccination education efforts, CDC has developed a variety of measles and vaccination resources, including fact sheets, podcasts, and matte articles. There are also infographics available in English and Spanish.

CDC and Medscape: This special series of commentaries, part of a collaboration between CDC and Medscape, is designed to deliver CDC’s authoritative guidance directly to Medscape’s physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care providers. In this series, CDC experts offer video commentaries on current topics important to practicing clinicians. NCIRD has contributed to a variety of commentaries. You may need to sign up and log in as a member to view the commentaries. Registration is free.

Immunization Resources: Publications are available for ordering at CDC-INFO on Demand. You can search for immunization publications by using the “Programs” drop-down menu and selecting “Immunization and Vaccines,” or you can search by “Title.” Numerous items are available, including the 2016 immunization schedules, the Parents’ Guide to Childhood Immunizations, and various campaign materials.

CDC Job Openings: CDC is committed to recruiting and hiring qualified candidates for a wide range of immunization and other positions. Researchers, medical officers, epidemiologists, and other specialists are often needed to fill positions within CDC. For a current listing, including international opportunities, please visit CDC’s employment web page.

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