IAC recently mailed the latest issue of Needle Tips (October 2007) to 190,000 health professionals and others who work in the field of immunization. Packed with immunization and hepatitis resources for health professionals, patients, and parents, the 24-page issue is well worth downloading. All articles and education pieces, except editorials, have been reviewed by immunization and hepatitis experts at CDC.

You can view selected articles from the table of contents below or download the entire issue from the Web.

To download a ready-to-print (PDF) version of the entire issue, go to: http://www.immunize.org/nslt.d/n37/n37.pdf

The PDF file of the entire issue is large. For tips on downloading and printing PDF files, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/nslt.d/tips.htm

To view the table of contents with links to individual articles, go to: http://www.immunize.org/nt

The October issue includes several notable articles, all of which can be downloaded:

• Ask the Experts
• Vaccine Highlights
• Summary of Recommendations for Childhood and Adolescent Immunization
• Summary of Recommendations for Adult Immunization
• Guidelines for Standing Orders in Labor & Delivery and Nursery Units to Prevent Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Transmission to Newborns
• Questions Frequently Asked About Hepatitis B, plus four additional viral hepatitis educational print materials for patients and staff
• Screening Questionnaire for Child and Teen Immunization
• Reliable Sources of Immunization Information: Where to go to find answers!
• Give These People Influenza Vaccine!
• Influenza vaccination standing orders, screening questionnaires, and other educational print materials for patients and staff

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) recently established the Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition (CIIC). Comprising representatives of 25 of the nation's leading public health, medical, patient, and parent groups committed to protecting children's health and encouraging wellness, CIIC seeks to address and improve the low influenza immunization rates among infants, children, and adolescents.

To that end, CIIC has developed a website of resources for the public, health professionals, and the media. Resources include informational materials, personal stories, fact sheets, public service announcements, and press releases.

A special feature of the CIIC site is the online Influenza Risk Calculator, located at
http://www.preventchildhoodinfluenza.org/calculator

To access the CIIC website, go to:
http://www.preventchildhoodinfluenza.org

For a listing of the 25 member organizations, go to:
http://www.preventchildhoodinfluenza.org/about/member.php

IAC recently completed the redesign of its vast online collection of links to vaccine-related journal articles. IAC's selection of practical, clinical, and programmatic articles is now presented in a well-organized, easy-to-access format.

The section's homepage offers users an alphabetical listing of 18 vaccine-preventable diseases. Click on a disease, and you will be taken to a chronological catalog of links to recently published (2004-2007) journal articles pertinent to the disease or topic. Each article listed offers users a live link to the article's abstract and/or full text.

Articles published before 2004 are available in archives organized chronologically by disease.

To access the Vaccine-Related Journal Articles web section, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/journalarticles

IAC recently updated its Screening Questionnaire for Intranasal Influenza Vaccination. It now reflects the FDA-approved change in the age at which the live intranasal influenza vaccine (LAIV; nasal-spray) can be given to children. Previously, LAIV was approved for use in children age 5 years and older; it is now approved for use in children age 2 years and older.

To access the revised questionnaire, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4067.pdf

CDC published "Notice to Readers: FDA Approval of an Alternative Dosing Schedule for a Combined Hepatitis A and B Vaccine (Twinrix)" in the October 12 issue of MMWR. The notice is reprinted below in its entirety.

[IAC Express editor's note: FDA approved the alternative schedule on March 28, 2007. The alternative schedule could benefit individuals traveling to high-risk areas; emergency responders, especially those being deployed to disaster areas overseas; and others who are at risk for hepatitis A and B infection.]

To receive a FREE electronic subscription to MMWR (which includes new ACIP statements), go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwrsubscribe.html