CDC requests nominations for its Childhood Immunization Champion Awards

The CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award is an annual award that recognizes individuals who make a significant contribution toward improving public health through their work in childhood immunization.
 
Each year, up to one CDC Immunization Champion from each of the 50 U.S. states, eight U.S. territories and freely associated states, and the District of Columbia will be honored. Champions can include coalition members, parents, healthcare professionals (e.g., physicians, nurses, physicians’ assistants, nurse practitioners, and medical assistants), and other immunization leaders who meet the award criteria. Self-nominations are welcome, or you may submit an application for a deserving individual.

Immunization program managers, state and federal government employees paid by state or federal immunization funding, individuals who have been affiliated with and/or employed by pharmaceutical companies, and those who have already received the award are not eligible to apply (for details, see page 3 of the nomination packet).

Awardees will be announced during National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW), which runs April 22–29 this year. Champions will receive a certificate of recognition, will be featured on CDC’s web site, and may be recognized by their immunization program during NIIW.

Nominations should be submitted to the Immunization Program Manager in the state or territory where the nominee resides by February 3. Please contact your state immunization program to confirm your state’s deadline. 

Related Links

• Information about award criteria, eligibility, and process, including the nomination form
• 2016 Childhood Immunization Champion winners
• 2015 Childhood Immunization Champion winners
• 2014 Childhood Immunization Champion winners
• 2013 Childhood Immunization Champion winners
• 2012 Childhood Immunization Champion winners
• National Infant Immunization Week web section

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Nominations are now open for the National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit Excellence Awards

The National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit (NAIIS) is now soliciting nominations for the 2017 Immunization Excellence Awards. These prestigious awards recognize individuals and organizations that have made extraordinary contributions towards improving vaccination rates within their communities during 2016. The awards focus on individuals and organizations that exemplify the meaning of the "immunization neighborhood" (collaboration, coordination, and communication among immunization stakeholders dedicated to meeting the immunization needs of the patient and protecting the community from vaccine-preventable diseases).

The national winner in each category will be invited to present their program at the 2017 NAIIS meeting, to be held May 9–11 in Atlanta, Georgia. The deadline for receipt of nominations is February 24.

Nominations are being accepted for the following six award categories:     

• NEW: Non-Healthcare Employer Campaign
• Laura Scott NAIIS Immunization Excellence Award for Outstanding Influenza Season Activities Campaign
• “Immunization Neighborhood” Champion
• Adult Immunization Champion
• Corporate Campaign
• Adult Immunization Publication Award

Related Links

• Access the 2017 nomination form for the NAIIS Immunization Excellence Awards
• NAIIS website
• NAIIS newsletter: The Summit Buzz

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CDC publishes guidance for assessment of poliovirus vaccination status and vaccination of children who have received polio vaccine outside the U.S.

CDC published Guidance for Assessment of Poliovirus Vaccination Status and Vaccination of Children Who Have Received Poliovirus Vaccine Outside the United States in the January 13 issue of MMWR (pages 23–5). A summary made available to the press is reprinted below.

This report highlights recent changes in the global polio eradication program strategies and provides guidance to ensure adequate vaccination of children who might have received poliovirus vaccination outside the U.S. This guidance is not new policy and does not change the current recommendations for poliovirus vaccination in the U.S. Children living in the U.S. who might have received poliovirus vaccination outside the U.S. should have protection against all three poliovirus types by age-appropriate vaccination with IPV or trivalent oral polio vaccine. In the absence of vaccination records indicating receipt of these vaccines, vaccination or revaccination with the age-appropriate U.S. IPV schedule is recommended. Serology to assess immunity for children with no or questionable documentation of poliovirus vaccination will no longer be an available option and is no longer recommended.

Related Links

• MMWR main page provides access to MMWR Weekly, MMWR Recommendations and Reports, MMWR Surveillance Summaries, and MMWR Supplements
• Free MMWR electronic subscription

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Professional organizations respond to President-elect Trump's meeting with Robert Kennedy Jr., regarding vaccine safety

On January 10, President-elect Trump met with vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who afterward claimed that Trump had asked him to chair “a commission on vaccination safety and scientific integrity.” Hours later, Trump transition spokeswoman Hope Hicks released a statement that read in part: “The President-elect is exploring the possibility of forming a commission on autism, which affects so many families; however no decisions have been made at this time." Kennedy is a well-known proponent of disproved theories regarding the safety of vaccines, especially the nonexistent link between vaccination and the development of autism.

Several professional organizations and individuals responded quickly to this news.

• American Academy of Pediatrics: American Academy of Pediatrics Emphasizes Safety and Importance of Vaccines
• American Academy of Family Physicians: Vaccines are Safe, Effective and They Save Lives
• American College of Physicians: Immunizations are safe; guard against serious health problems, hospitalization, and even death
• Autism Science Foundation: Statement from ASF President
• Paul A. Offit, MD, professor of pediatrics and director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: Trump Needs Vaccine Experts, Not Conspiracy Theorists
• Arthur Allen, eHealth editor at POLITICO: Vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. says he'll chair vaccine commission for Trump 
• Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations and a Pulitzer Prize winning science writer in the Chicago Tribune: Donald Trump and the anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorists  
• Michael Specter, The New Yorker: Trump’s Dangerous Support for Conspiracies About Autism and Vaccines  
• The Washington Post: The United States already has a vaccine safety commission. And it works really well, experts say.
• Steven Salzberg, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, and Biostatistics at Johns Hopkins University, in Forbes: Trump And Conspiracy Theorist RFK Jr Meet For Anti-Vax Lovefest
• Los Angeles Times: Will 2017 be the year the anti-vaccination movement goes mainstream?    

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American Academy of Pediatrics helps to change billing coding for vaccine administration

An article published in the December 30 issue of AAP News, AAP advocacy leads to change in coding for vaccine administration, provides details about an increase in the number of units of service allowed for vaccine administration. A section of the article is reprinted below.

The change affects code 90460 (Immunization administration through 18 years of age via any route of administration, with counseling by physician or other qualified health care professional; first or only component of each vaccine or toxoid administered) and code 90461 (immunization administration through 18 years of age via any route of admin, w/ counseling by physician or other qualified health care professional; each additional component).

Medically unlikely edits (MUEs) are the daily limit placed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and often are used by private payers to reduce the likelihood of coding errors. MUEs are part of the National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI) edit system.
 
For more information, read the complete article: AAP advocacy leads to change in coding for vaccine administration
 
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IAC enrolls four new birthing institutions into its Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll; five previously honored institutions qualify for additional years' honors

The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) is pleased to announce that four new institutions have been accepted into its Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll. The birthing institutions are listed below with their reported hepatitis B birth dose coverage rates in parentheses.

• Huron Medical Center, Bad Axe, MI (91%)
• Jefferson Hospital, Jefferson Hills, PA (98%)
• Odessa Regional Medical Center, Odessa, TX (98%)
• Sunrise Children's Hospital, Las Vegas, NV (92%)

In addition, the following five institutions are being recognized for a second year:

• INTEGRIS Grove Hospital, Grove, OK (98%)
• MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH (96%)
• Montefiore Medical Center, Wakefield Campus, Bronx, NY (98%)
• Seminole Memorial Hospital, Seminole, TX (95%)
• UMass Memorial Medical Center, Worcester, MA (93%) 

The Honor Roll now includes 314 birthing institutions from 38 states, Puerto Rico, and Guam. One hundred institutions have qualified for two years, 35 institutions have qualified three times, 5 institutions have qualified four times, and 2 institutions have qualified five times.

The Honor Roll is a key part of IAC’s major initiative urging the nation’s hospitals to Give birth to the end of Hep B. Hospitals and birthing centers are recognized for attaining high coverage rates for administering hepatitis B vaccine at birth and meeting specific additional criteria. The initiative urges qualifying healthcare organizations to apply for the Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll online.

To be included in the Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll, a birthing institution must have: (1) reported a coverage rate of 90 percent or greater, over a 12-month period, for administering hepatitis B vaccine before hospital discharge to all newborns, including those whose parents refuse vaccination, and (2) implemented specific written policies, procedures, and protocols to protect all newborns from hepatitis B virus infection prior to hospital discharge.

Honorees are also awarded an 8.5" x 11" color certificate suitable for framing and their acceptance is announced to IAC Express’s approximately 50,000 readers.

Please visit the Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll web page that lists these institutions and their exceptional efforts to protect infants from perinatal hepatitis B transmission.

Related Links

• Give birth to the end of Hep B web page on immunize.org
• Fact sheet about the birth dose honor roll: Do you qualify for the Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll? If so, apply today. Also available in black & white.
• Fact sheet about the importance of the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose: Give birth to the end of Hep B. Also available in black & white.
• Hepatitis B Birth Dose Honor Roll web page
• 84-page guidebook, Hepatitis B: What Hospitals Need to Do to Protect Newborns, which contains a wide range of resources to help birthing institutions establish, implement, and optimize their hepatitis B vaccine birth dose policies
• Give birth to the end of Hep B slide set, includes script (43 slides) 

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NVPO seeks information about business models that enable healthcare providers to offer vaccines to their privately insured/private-pay patients

The National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) is seeking information about business models—existing, under development, or planned—that enable healthcare providers to offer vaccines to their privately insured/private-pay patients. NVPO is most interested in innovative business models aimed at reducing any of the barriers to implementing vaccination services such as vaccine purchase, billing, storage and handling, immunization information systems (IIS) reporting, including models for populating IIS directly/automatically from electronic medical records, forecasting vaccine demand, and managing private vaccine inventories. In addition, NVPO is interested in models that can demonstrate improvements in the immunization coverage rates of the patients seen in the healthcare settings utilizing such models as well as improvements in reporting to IIS.
 
If you have such information, please respond to this Federal Register Notice by January 25: Request for Information From Organizations Utilizing Business Models Supporting Private Sector Vaccine Management

This initiative is part of NVPO's efforts to promote vaccination coverage across the lifespan.
 
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IAC HANDOUTS

IAC adds more information to its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine standing orders templates

IAC recently added more information to its Standing Orders for  Administering Human Papillomavirus Vaccine to Children and Teens to make clear that a 3-dose HPV vaccine schedule is recommended for people age aged 9 through 26 who have primary and secondary immunocompromising conditions, regardless of age at initiation of the series.

IAC revised its Standing Orders for Administering Human Papillomavirus Vaccine to Adults to allow for a 2-dose schedule in those adults who may have received their first dose before their 15th birthday.

Related Links

• IAC's Standings Orders web page for all templates
• IAC's Handouts for Patients & Staff web section offers healthcare professionals and the public more than 250 FREE English-language handouts (many also available in translation), which we encourage website users to print out, copy, and distribute widely

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VACCINE INFORMATION STATEMENTS

MMR VIS now available in Ilokano and Chuukese languages

IAC recently posted Ilokano and Chuukese translations of the MMR VIS. IAC thanks the Hawaii Department of Health for the translations.

• Ilokano-language version of the MMR VIS
• Chuukese-language version of the MMR VIS

Related Links

• Access all Ilokano VISs
• Access all Chuukese VISs
• Access all MMR VIS translations, as well as the English-language version
• Visit IAC's VIS web section for VISs in more than 35 languages

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Rotavirus, Tdap, and Td VISs now available in Japanese

IAC recently posted Japanese translations of the Tdap, Td, and Rotavirus VISs. IAC thanks the Oregon Health Authority for the translations.

• Japanese-language version of the Tdap VIS
• Japanese-language version of the Td VIS
• Japanese-language version of the Rotavirus VIS

Related Links

• Access all Japanese VISs
• Access all Rotavirus VIS translations, as well as the English-language version
• Access all Tdap VIS translations, as well as the English-language version
• Access all Td VIS translations, as well as the English-language version
• Visit IAC's VIS web section for VISs in more than 35 languages

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WORLD NEWS

Weekly Epidemiological Report publishes summary of Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety meeting

WHO published Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety, 30 November–1 December 2016 in the January 13 issue of the Weekly Epidemiological Record. The first paragraph is reprinted below.
 
The Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS), an independent expert clinical and scientific advisory body, provides WHO with scientifically rigorous advice on vaccine safety issues of potential global importance. GACVS held its 35th meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on 30 November and 1 December 2016. The Committee examined 2 generic issues: updates on its operations following a review conducted in 2014, and progress with developing the Vaccine Safety Net. It also reviewed vaccine-specific safety issues concerning typhoid vaccines, yellow fever vaccines and new data examining the relationship between the occurrence of narcolepsy and administration of p2009H1N1 monovalent vaccines.

Related Links

• Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety web section
• Vaccine Safety Net information
• Current issue and archives of the Weekly Epidemiological Record

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