Immunization Works July 2016

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Updated and Redesigned 2016 Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit: The updated and redesigned Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit for health care providers and other interested health care professionals is now available on CDC’s website.

This helpful resource provides best practices related to vaccine storage and handling based on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), product information from vaccine manufacturers, and scientific studies.

Topics include:

Managing vaccine inventory and transport
Storing and preparing vaccine
Monitoring vaccine temperature
Using and maintaining storage unit and temperature monitoring equipment
Preparing for emergency storage, handling, and transport situations
Developing standard operating procedures for routine and emergency vaccine management and staff training

The redesigned toolkit allows health care providers to find the information they need quickly and easily to ensure they are following the most up-to-date storage and handling guidance.

The 2016 Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit reflects the recent adjustment in CDC’s guidance on the Fahrenheit temperature range for storing refrigerated vaccines. The new recommended Fahrenheit temperature range is 36° F–46° F (previously 35° F–46° F). The Celsius temperature range (2° C–8° C) remains unchanged, as stated in all manufacturer package inserts for routinely recommended vaccines.

Please e-mail vaccine storage and handling questions to IZcoldchain@cdc.gov.

Updated Vaccine Information Statements (VISs): CDC has released updated versions of the Hepatitis A VIS, Hepatitis B VIS, and Polio VIS. These are now final (not interim) VISs. Ideally, providers should begin using them immediately. However, they are not significantly different from the previous editions, so existing stocks may be used until depleted. Please visit the VIS site for additional information and other VISs.

New Webinar Series for Pink Book: This online series of 15 webinars provides an overview of vaccination principles, general recommendations, immunization strategies, and specific information about vaccine-preventable diseases and the vaccines that prevent them. Each webinar will explore a chapter from the 13^th edition of Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (the Pink Book). The webinars started June 1 and will air live most Wednesdays from 12 to 1 p.m. EDT through September 21, 2016. Check the schedule for live webcasts, and view recordings at your convenience online at the Pink Book webinar web page.

You must register in advance for the live webinars. After registering, you will receive event access information via e-mail. Each webinar is limited to 1,500 participants, so please log in early to secure a virtual “seat.” If a webinar is full or if you miss a live event, you can watch it at the Pink Book webinar web page. Webcasts will be posted within a few days after the live event.

Continuing Education (CE) credit will be available for each event.

Webinars will be aired via the Adobe Connect Webinar System. We recommend that you do a connection test in advance to verify that your computer meets all system requirements for the webinars. If you pass the three steps of the test, you are ready to participate. Audio will only be available through your computer speakers, so there will be no call-in phone number. Questions during the event can be submitted to our subject matter experts via a Question and Answer Pod, which will display when you join the event. Troubleshooting information to assist with meeting access and other issues will also be available.

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.

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Influenza Information

Make Plans to Vaccinate: Long-term Care Personnel Get Ready for Flu Season: Influenza can be a serious health threat, especially for vulnerable populations like older adults and people living with long-term disabilities. It is important for all long-term health care personnel to take necessary steps to protect themselves and their patients from the flu this season. National influenza vaccination coverage rates among health care personnel in long-term care (LTC) facilities continue to trail behind other facility types. But, there are ways to improve these rates.

HHS’s, National Vaccine Program Office and CDC have partnered to create an online toolkit to help administrators in long-term care facilities launch successful influenza vaccination programs for their staff as an integral part of their influenza infection prevention plans. This web-based toolkit offers a variety of proactive and useful resources, including educational materials, easy-to-download campaign resources, and other guidance documents to help LTC facility administrators take action to protect staff and residents from influenza infection.

Influenza Activity in the U.S. During the 2015–16 Season and Composition of the 2016–17 Influenza Vaccine: During the 2015–16 U.S. influenza season (October 4, 2015–May 21, 2016), influenza activity was lower and peaked later compared with the previous three seasons (2014–15, 2013–14, and 2012–13). Activity remained low from October 2015 until late December 2015 and peaked in mid-March 2016. During the most recent 18 influenza seasons (including this season), only two other seasons have peaked in March (2011–12 and 2005–06). Overall influenza activity was moderate this season, with a lower percentage of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI), lower hospitalization rates, and a lower percentage of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza compared with the preceding three seasons. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses predominated overall, but influenza A(H3N2) viruses were more commonly identified from October to early December, and influenza B viruses were more commonly identified from mid-April through mid-May. The majority of viruses have been similar to the components recommended for this season’s Northern Hemisphere influenza vaccine. The June 10 MMWR on influenza activity summarizes activity in the U.S. during the 2015–16 influenza season and reports the vaccine virus components recommended for the 2016–17 Northern Hemisphere influenza vaccines.

2015–16 Flu Season Update: The 2015–16 influenza season was less severe overall compared with the preceding three seasons, including 2013–14, the last influenza season when influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was the predominant virus. Influenza A(H3N2)â€“predominant seasons are typically more severe overall than influenza A(H1N1)pdm09â€“predominant seasons, and are especially severe among the elderly and the very young. Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses have been associated with severe illness in younger adults since the virus emerged during the 2009 pandemic, when mortality rates were highest in adults aged 50–64 years, and again during the 2013–14 season, when adults younger than 65 years were at high risk for severe influenza illness. For this season and the 2013–14 season, cumulative hospitalization rates for adults aged 50–64 years were 45.2 and 53.7 per 100,000 population, respectively, demonstrating that although some age groups are at high risk of developing influenza-related complications every year, influenza can cause severe illness in persons of any age, including adults aged 50–64 years.

What’s New for the 2016–17 Flu Season: On June 22, 2016, ACIP voted that live, attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), also known as the “nasal spray” flu vaccine, should not be used during the 2016–17 flu season. ACIP continues to recommend annual flu vaccination for everyone age 6 months and older, using either the inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) or recombinant influenza vaccine (RIV). More information on the ACIP vote is available in the June 22, 2016, Media Statement.

Two new flu vaccine options will be available during the 2016–17 flu season. Fluad, a new vaccine licensed for use in people aged 65 years and older, contains MF59, a type of adjuvant (ingredient that helps create a stronger immune response in the patient’s body). A quadrivalent flu vaccine licensed for use in people age 4 years and older and made with virus grown in cell culture, will also be available for the first time.

The egg allergy recommendations have also been updated. Anyone with an egg allergy can receive any licensed flu vaccine; however, the vaccine should be administered in an inpatient or outpatient medical setting and supervised by a health care provider who is able to recognize and manage severe allergic reactions. People with egg allergies no longer have to be observed for 30 minutes after receiving flu vaccine.

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 available 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 events combining an online visual presentation with simultaneous audio via telephone conference call, along with a live question and answer session. Registration, Internet access, and a separate phone line are needed to participate. The next netconference will be November 9, 2016. 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 Rotavirus and Hepatitis B. 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 most recent ACIP meeting was held June 22–23, 2016. Topics for the June meeting included cholera, meningococcal vaccine, influenza, the child/adolescent immunization schedule, hepatitis, vaccine supply, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), maternal pertussis vaccine safety, poliovirus laboratory containment, and human papillomavirus (HPV). The meeting minutes will be posted soon. The next ACIP meeting will be held October 19–20, 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 educational 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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