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IAC Express 2008 |
| Issue number 711: February 11, 2008 |
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Contents
of this Issue
Select a title to jump to the article. |
- IZTA
plans teleconference on parents' vaccine concerns on March 4
- Free
"Shots 2008" software for childhood, adolescent, and catch-up immunization
schedules now available
- IAC
updates "Hepatitis B Facts: Testing and Vaccination"
- Sanofi
pasteur provides information on proper use of ActHIB
- CDC
provides new influenza resources for providers and the public
- National
Conference on Immunization & Health Coalitions extends abstract deadline
to February 15
- American
Council on Science and Health offers new resource for patients and parents
- MMWR
notifies readers about requirements for health economic studies presented
to ACIP
- WHO
issues position paper on typhoid vaccines
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| Abbreviations |
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AAFP, American Academy of Family Physicians; AAP,
American Academy of Pediatrics; ACIP, Advisory Committee on Immunization
Practices; AMA, American Medical Association; CDC, Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention; FDA, Food and Drug Administration; IAC, Immunization
Action Coalition; MMWR, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; NCIRD,
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; NIVS, National
Influenza Vaccine Summit; VIS, Vaccine Information Statement; VPD,
vaccine-preventable disease; WHO, World Health Organization. |
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Issue 711: February 11, 2008 |
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1. |
IZTA plans teleconference on
parents' vaccine concerns on March 4
The Immunization Coalitions Technical Assistance
Network (IZTA) plans a conference call on March 4. The goal of the call is to
help healthcare providers address parents' concerns about vaccine safety and
effectiveness. IZTA is a program of the Center for Health Communication,
Academy for Educational Development.
The presenter, Dr. Benjamin Levi, is a philosopher/ethics expert and
pediatrician. He is an associate professor in the Departments of Pediatrics
and Humanities at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center and maintains an
active clinical general pediatrics practice.
The call will be held at 3PM, ET. To register, send an email to
izta@aed.org Include this message: "Sign me
up for the Addressing Parents' Concerns Call."
For additional information, or to access earlier programs, go to:
http://www.izta.org/confcall.cfm
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2. |
Free "Shots 2008" software for childhood, adolescent, and catch-up
immunization schedules now available
The "Shots 2008" quick-reference guides to the
childhood,
adolescent, and catch-up immunization schedules are now
available for Palm-OS handhelds and Pocket-PCs handhelds. Both
are available on the website of the Group on Immunization
Education of the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.
To access "Shots 2008" for Palm-OS handhelds and Pocket-PCs
handhelds, as well as "Shots 2008 Online," go to:
http://www.immunizationed.org/anypage.aspx?pagename=shotshome
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3. |
IAC updates "Hepatitis B Facts: Testing and Vaccination"
IAC made minor changes to its health professional
education
piece, "Hepatitis B Facts: Testing and Vaccination."
To access a ready-to-print (PDF) version of the updated piece,
go to: http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2110.pdf
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4. |
Sanofi pasteur provides information on proper use of ActHIB
On January 28, CDC forwarded information from
sanofi pasteur to
immunization partners. The 2-page document describes details
about the proper use of ActHIB vaccine, including information
about how to reconstitute this product. In light of the current
Hib vaccine shortage, this resource may be helpful to providers
who are unfamiliar with this product.
To access the information sheet, go to:
http://www.vaccineshoppe.com/assets/pdf/ActHIBPISummary.pdf
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5. |
CDC provides new influenza resources for providers and the public
CDC has recently posted several new resources
online.
1) The transcript for a February 8 news conference on seasonal
activity influenza can be accessed at
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/transcripts/2008/t080208.htm
2) To promote continuing vaccination during the entire influenza
season, CDC has started a 'late season' influenza vaccination
web page at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/late-season.htm A
link on this page, http://www.cdc.gov/flu/NIVW/activities.htm,
lists late season activities including flu shot clinics and
media events.
3) Questions and answers about the 2007-2008 influenza season
can be accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/season.htm
4) A new section for the public titled "Taking Care of Yourself:
What to Do if You Get Sick with Flu" can be accessed at
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/takingcare.htm
5) A new web page titled "Questions & Answers: Influenza
Antiviral Drug Resistance" can be accessed at
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/antiviralresistance.htm
6) A summary of current influenza activity in chart format,
"FluView," can be accessed at
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm
The home page of CDC's Seasonal Flu web section is
http://www.cdc.gov/flu
In addition, visit the following website to find the information
you need to keep vaccinating into the spring.
The National Influenza Vaccine Summit website at
http://www.preventinfluenza.org
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6. |
National Conference on Immunization & Health Coalitions extends abstract
deadline to February 15
The abstract deadline has been extended to
February 15th for the
8th National Conference on Immunization & Health Coalitions,
which will be held May 21-23, in San Francisco.
The goal of the conference is to discuss ways public/private
collaborations can prevent disease, increase health access,
reduce health disparities, educate new populations, build
community health infrastructure, and improve important health
outcomes across the lifespan. The agenda will teach participants
skills to start, maintain, and make health coalitions more
effective.
For more information about the conference, go to:
http://www.sfimmunize.org/page2.html
For information about abstract submission, go to:
http://www.sfimmunize.org/call%20for%20abstracts%20and%20guidelines.pdf
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7. |
American Council on Science and Health offers new resource for patients and
parents
The American Council on Science and Health has
developed a new
resource about celebrity-touted health myths and science. Their
publication, "Celebrities Vs. Science," includes a section where
Paul Offit, MD, responds to claims about vaccination by Jenny
McCarthy and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
This 8-page document can be printed by going to
http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.1668/pub_detail.asp and
following the instructions for downloading.
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8. |
MMWR
notifies readers about requirements for health economic studies presented to
ACIP
CDC published "Notice to Readers: Guidance for
Presentation of
Economic Studies to the Advisory Committee on Immunization
Practices" in the February 8 issue of MMWR. The article is
reprinted below in its entirety, excluding one reference.
The charter of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
(ACIP) states that committee deliberations on the appropriate
use of vaccines should include consideration of population-based
studies such as efficacy, cost-benefit, and risk-benefit
analyses. As the number and cost of vaccines have increased,
economic analyses have become an essential aspect of the
development of policy recommendations for their use. To ensure
that economic data presented to the ACIP and its working groups
are of the highest scientific quality, readily understandable,
and uniform in presentation, CDC economists have developed
Guidance for Health Economics Studies Presented to the ACIP.
This guidance, approved by ACIP on June 27, 2007, mandates
formal technical review of any economic study before its
presentation to the ACIP, effective as of the ACIP meeting, June
25-26, 2008.
The Guidance requires that all economic data presented to the
ACIP be reviewed by anonymous peer reviewers within CDC. When a
reviewer with a particular area of economic expertise is not
available within CDC, external reviewers may be used. Materials
to be submitted for review must include a report that provides
the methods and results of the study, slides, and other
presentation materials as needed. The report and other materials
must be sent to the appropriate ACIP working group no later than
8 weeks before the ACIP general meeting or working group meeting
at which the analysis is scheduled to be presented. Reviewers
will consult with relevant CDC subject-matter experts and return
comments and questions in writing to the National Center for
Immunization and Respiratory Diseases lead economist (or
designee) at least 4 weeks in advance of the formal
presentation. Additional details are included in the guidance
document, which is available at
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/acip/economic-studies.htm
To access a web-text (HTML) version of the complete article, go
to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5705a5.htm
To access a ready-to-print (PDF) version of this issue of MMWR,
go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5705.pdf
To receive a FREE electronic subscription to MMWR (which
includes new ACIP statements), go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/mmwrsubscribe.html
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9. |
WHO
issues position paper on typhoid vaccines
The February 8 issue of the WHO periodical
"Weekly
Epidemiological Record" covered the latest WHO position paper on
typhoid vaccines. To access it, go to:
http://www.who.int/wer/2008/wer8306.pdf
A collection of WHO position papers on vaccines is available in
alphabetical order at
http://www.who.int/immunization/documents/positionpapers
They are available in chronological order on the IAC website at
http://www.immunize.org/who
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