Issue Number 132            January 12, 2000

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE

  1. New polio VISs are available on IAC's website! As of January 1, 2000, ACIP recommends an all-IPV schedule for routine childhood immunization against polio 
  2. VIS translations in Arabic, Croatian, French, and German are available on IAC's website
  3. CDC publishes VIS resource booklet

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(1)
January 12, 2000
NEW POLIO VISs ARE AVAILABLE ON IAC'S WEBSITE! AS OF JANUARY 1, 2000, ACIP RECOMMENDS AN ALL-IPV SCHEDULE FOR ROUTINE CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATION AGAINST POLIO

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) now recommends an all-inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) schedule for routine childhood polio vaccination in the United States. Effective as of January 1, 2000, all children in the U.S. should receive four doses of IPV at ages 2 months, 4 months, 6-18 months, and 4-6 years. Polio Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consistent with this recommendation are available on the website of the Immunization Action Coalition (IAC).

The new "Polio" VIS for the all-IPV schedule can be downloaded as a camera-ready document (PDF format) at: http://www.immunize.org/vis/ipv-00.pdf

Concerning the continued use of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), CDC's "OPV Supplement" VIS states that OPV is still recommended for childhood polio vaccination in the U.S. under four circumstances. These circumstances include:

  1. Mass vaccination campaigns to control outbreaks of paralytic polio;
  2. Children who have never received any polio vaccine who plan to travel within four weeks to countries where polio is common. These children may get OPV for the first dose;
  3. Children whose parents do not accept the recommended number of injections. These children should get IPV for the first two doses of the polio vaccine series, but may get OPV for the third or fourth dose, or both;
  4. People with a life-threatening allergy to the antibiotics neomycin, streptomycin, or polymyxin B, or people who have a life-threatening allergic reaction to a dose of IPV. These people may get OPV instead.

The "OPV Supplement VIS" should be distributed to patients when using OPV in these circumstances. To obtain a camera-ready copy (PDF format) of the "OPV Supplement" VIS, go to: http://www.immunize.org/vis/opv-00.pdf

You can also request a camera-ready copy of both the "Polio" VIS and the "OPV Supplement" VIS from your state health department. To obtain the names and phone numbers of your state health department's immunization program, go to: http://www.immunize.org/nslt.d/n18/coord18.htm

In addition, CDC distributes the new polio VIS, as well as all other VISs published in English. To obtain camera-ready copies of these documents, call CDC's Immunization Information Hotline at (800) 232-2522 or visit the website  of the National Immunization Program at: http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/vis/default.htm

To read the original ACIP statement titled "Revised Recommendations for Routine Poliomyelitis Vaccination" which was published as a "Notice to Readers" in the July 16, 1999, MMWR, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4827a4.htm
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(2)
January 12, 2000
VIS TRANSLATIONS IN ARABIC, CROATIAN, FRENCH, AND GERMAN ARE AVAILABLE ON IAC'S WEBSITE

The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) has added four new sets of translated Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) to its website including Arabic, Croatian, French, and German languages. In all, VISs in 22 languages in addition to English are now available with the click of a mouse! 

An index of all VISs posted on IAC's website in all translations can be found at: http://www.immunize.org/vis/index.htm

To go directly to the VIS index for one of the four languages listed above, visit:

Arabic: http://www.immunize.org/vis/index.htm#arabic
Croatian: http://www.immunize.org/vis/index.htm#croatian
French: http://www.immunize.org/vis/index.htm#french
German: http://www.immunize.org/vis/index.htm#german

Many thanks to the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) for providing these new translations. If you are unable to download any or all of these VISs, contact MDH at (800) 657-3970 and request that a camera-ready copy of the VIS be sent to you. 

For more information on how to use VISs from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), go to: http://www.immunize.org/vis/instr00.htm
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(3)
January 12, 2000
CDC PUBLISHES VIS RESOURCE BOOKLET

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a 28-page booklet titled "What You Need to Know about Vaccine Information Statements." This document details the responsibilities of immunization providers regarding the use of Vaccine Information Statements (VISs), and contains an informative question and answer section. In addition, the booklet includes a camera-ready copy of almost every VIS that CDC publishes.

To order your free copy of this booklet, please call CDC's Information Center at (404) 639-8226 or download the text version (HTML format) of "What You Need to Know About Vaccine Information Statements"(copies of the VISs not  included) from IAC's website at: http://www.immunize.org/vis/instr00.htm

NOTE: This booklet provides comprehensive practical and legal information for any provider of vaccine services. However, a few items have been updated since the document was originally published including the date and version of the polio VIS. The polio VIS which all health care providers will need to use beginning January 1, 2000, is not included in this booklet. Instead, the most up-to-date polio VIS is printed with "Polio - 1/1/2000" on the lower right hand  corner of the first and second pages of the VIS and can be downloaded from IAC's website and/or ordered from your state health department or CDC directly.

To obtain a camera-ready copy of this new polio VIS, go to: http://www.immunize.org/vis/ipv-00.pdf or contact your state health department. For state health department immunization program phone numbers, visit: http://www.immunize.org/nslt.d/n18/coord18.htm

In addition, the booklet described above does not contain the most recent Influenza VIS (6/1/99).

For the most recent versions of all of CDC's VISs in English and in up to 22 translations, visit the VIS index page on IAC's website at: http://www.immunize.org/vis/index.htm

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