The June 2010 issues of Needle Tips and Vaccinate Adults are available online for viewing, downloading, and printing. Both issues focus on the importance of vaccinating healthcare personnel against influenza. The content of Vaccinate Adults is similar to that of Needle Tips, except the pediatric information has been removed from Vaccinate Adults.

To download the entire issue of Needle Tips right now, go to: http://www.immunize.org/nslt.d/n45/n45.pdf

Complete information about the June 2010 issue of Needle Tips is available at http://www.immunize.org/nt There you will find a link for displaying and printing the entire 14-page PDF of the issue, along with a table of contents for viewing and printing individual sections of Needle Tips.

To download the entire issue of Vaccinate Adults right now, go to: http://www.immunize.org/va/va28.pdf

Complete information about the June 2010 issue of Vaccinate Adults is available at http://www.immunize.org/va

IAC encourages qualifying healthcare organizations to apply for its Honor Roll for Patient Safety. Since May 10, when IAC Express last reported on the Honor Roll for Patient Safety, four institutions and one medical practice have enrolled. The honor roll recognizes hospitals, medical practices, professional organizations, and government entities that have taken a stand for patient safety by strengthening mandatory influenza vaccination policies for healthcare workers.

The institutions that have joined since May 10 are Community Hospital of Long Beach, CA; Georgetown Hospital System, Georgetown, SC; Seven Hills Pediatric Center, Groton, MA; and University Hospital, Cincinnati, OH. The medical practice is Children's Medical Group of Saginaw Bay, Bay City, MI. The addition of these five healthcare organizations brings the total number of enrolled institutions and medical practices to 59.

The "News and Articles" section of the honor roll now includes a link to the following editorial: "Is It Ethically Permissible to Mandate Influenza Vaccination for Health Care Workers?" (Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, June 2010). To read the editorial, go to: http://www.jaapa.com/is-it-ethically-permissible-to-mandate-influenza-vaccination-for-health-care-workers/article/171485

To be included in the honor roll, an organization's mandate must require influenza vaccination for employees and must include serious measures to prevent transmission of influenza from unvaccinated workers to patients. Such measures might include a mask requirement, reassignment to non-patient-care duties, or dismissal of the employee.

To find out specific information on the mandates of the enrolled organizations, go to: http://www.immunize.org/honor-roll This web page also includes information about applying to be included on the honor roll.

IAC recently revised "Hepatitis A is a serious liver disease--Vaccination can protect you!" to include information about hepatitis A vaccination for contacts of international adoptees. Go to: http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4080.pdf

IAC's Handouts for Patients and Staff web section offers healthcare professionals and the public approximately 250 FREE English-language handouts (many also available in translation), which we encourage website users to print out, copy, and distribute widely. To access all of IAC's free handouts, go to: http://www.immunize.org/handouts

IAC encourages IAC Express readers to visit a video collection of real-life stories about vaccine-preventable diseases assembled by the California Immunization Coalition (CIC). CIC's story bank includes more than 40 stories told by survivors, family members, friends, and healthcare providers. They include accounts about HPV and cervical cancer, varicella, hepatitis B, Hib, influenza, meningococcal disease, pertussis, pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus, and shingles. The collection also includes some story collections and public service announcements.

The link to this collection of videos will be available on the home page of IAC's website through July 11. To access it, go to: http://www.immunize.org and click on the image under the words Video of the Week. After July 11, you can access the page directly at http://shotbyshot.org/story-gallery

Remember to bookmark IAC's home page to view a new video every Monday. To view an IAC Video of the Week from the past, go to the video archive at http://www.immunize.org/votw

In June, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) posted the most recent version of its popular and useful Vaccine Status Table. The table now has three component tables:

(1) Status of Recently Submitted, Licensed, and Recommended Vaccines, which has existed since 2005, provides current information on vaccines that have been submitted to FDA for licensure and recommended for use by AAP and CDC.

(2) Newly introduced, Status of Older Vaccine Licensure and Recommendations includes information on vaccines that were licensed and recommended before 2008.

(3) Also newly introduced, Status of Recommendations for Vaccine Use in Special Circumstances or Changes in Recommended Vaccine Use includes information on vaccines such as anthrax that are not routinely recommended, and on previously licensed vaccines such as hepatitis A whose recommendations have recently changed.

To access the three tables now included in AAP's Vaccine Status Table, go to: http://aapredbook.aappublications.org/news/vaccstatus.dtl

CDC published "Hepatitis A Vaccination Coverage Among U.S. Children Aged 12-23 Months--Immunization Information System Sentinel Sites, 2006-2009" in the July 2 issue of MMWR. The first paragraph is reprinted below.

To access the full article in web-text (HTML) format, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5925a3.htm

The "CDC Features" web section now includes information for the public on pertussis, a timely topic considering the current outbreak in California.

To access "Pertussis (Whooping Cough)--What You Need To Know," go to: http://www.cdc.gov/Features/Pertussis

To access an alphabetical index of all "CDC Features," go to: http://www.cdc.gov/az

Project Immunize Virginia recently created a toolkit for physicians, nurses, and other health professionals who are in the position to answer parents' questions about vaccines. Titled Addressing Parents' Concerns about Vaccinations, the toolkit provides information about recent vaccine studies and offers suggested conversation topics and resources.

To download the toolkit, go to: http://www.immunizeva.org/tools

CDC published "Vaccinia Virus Infection After Sexual Contact with a Military Smallpox Vaccinee--Washington, 2010" in the July 2 issue of MMWR. The first paragraph is reprinted below.

To access the full article in web-text (HTML) format, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5925a2.htm

The Virtual Immunization Communication Network (VIC) is sponsoring a free webinar on July 22 at 11AM Pacific time (2PM Eastern time). "The Flu Ends with U: Communication Strategies and Recommendations for the Upcoming Flu Season" will feature Kristine Sheedy, PhD, associate director for Communication Science at CDC. Dr. Sheedy will discuss the messages and communication strategies CDC plans to employ during the upcoming influenza season.

For more information, go to: http://www.vicnetwork.org Click on the red button on the right to register.

VIC is a program of the National Public Health Information Coalition in collaboration with the California Immunization Coalition.

CDC published "Announcement: Immunization Update 2010 Webcast" in the July 2 issue of MMWR. The announcement is reprinted below in its entirety.

To access the announcement in web-text (HTML) format, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5925a4.htm

The Vaccine Education Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will hold a Vaccine Education Symposium on September 25.

For more information, download the symposium brochure at http://www.chop.edu/system/galleries/download/pdfs/articles/cme/vaccine-2010.pdf

To register online, go to: https://www.chop.edu/professionals/educational-resources/continuing-medical-education/registration.cfm/vaccine-2010

CDC's popular Epidemiology & Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases course will be offered in Lake Tahoe, NV, November 3-5.

For comprehensive information, access the conference brochure at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/ed/downloads/nv-brochure2010.pdf

The North Dakota State Immunization Conference will take place on August 24-25 in Mandan, ND.

For comprehensive information, go to: http://conferences.und.edu/immunization

PKIDs (Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases) has scheduled a 1.5-hour webinar for July 15. The presenters--Chris Saylor and Sherri Michelstein from Alembic Health Communications--will discuss the social marketing programs that have helped the National Meningitis Association advance its mission of raising public awareness about meningococcal disease and encouraging vaccination.

The "National Meningitis Association Shares Secrets of Social Marketing Success" webinar is scheduled for July 15 at 9AM Pacific Time (noon Eastern Time). Space is limited and pre-registration is recommended. To register, go to: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/schedule/display.do?udc=p1k2n46d7jtv

The webinar is part of Communications Made Easy, a PKIDS' program intended to help immunization educators learn the ropes of social marketing and traditional and social media. For more information on the Communications Made Easy program, go to: http://www.pkids.org/cmeontent

Fondation Merieux is organizing a conference titled "Herd Immunity/Protection: An Important Indirect Benefit of Vaccination." The conference will take place at Les Pensieres in Annecy, France, October 25-27.

For information, including the conference brochure and registration form, go to: http://www.fondation-merieux.org/-upcoming-conferences-and-events.html Scroll down to the Herd Immunity event.