Issue
Number 546
August 22, 2005
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
- Comments on proposed CMS nursing home immunization
requirement must be submitted by August 30
- FDA approves VAQTA hepatitis A vaccine for use in
children ages 12 months and older
- New: August 2005 issue of Vaccinate Women is on the IAC
website
- Important: September 15 is the deadline for submitting
comments on proposed revisions to Healthy People 2010
- Teleconference on working with physicians to improve
adult vaccination rates is scheduled for September 13
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ABBREVIATIONS: AAFP, American Academy of Family Physicians; AAP, American
Academy of Pediatrics; ACIP, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices;
CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; FDA, Food and Drug
Administration; IAC, Immunization Action Coalition; MMWR, Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report; NIP, National Immunization Program; VIS, Vaccine
Information Statement; VPD, vaccine-preventable disease; WHO, World Health
Organization.
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August 22, 2005
COMMENTS ON PROPOSED CMS NURSING HOME IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENT MUST BE
SUBMITTED BY AUGUST 30
On August 15, the Federal Register published a proposal from the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), requiring nursing homes serving Medicare
and Medicaid patients to provide immunizations against influenza and
pneumococcal disease to all residents in order to continue in the programs.
Because of the impending influenza season, this proposed rule will have a
15-day comment period, ending 5:00PM, EDT, August 30.
CMS received input from CDC and two of the largest nursing home industry
trade groups, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
and the American Health Care Association, in developing the proposed rule.
The proposal states that each nursing home resident must receive necessary
influenza and pneumoccocal immunizations as a condition of participation in
the two programs, unless refused by the patient or patient's family, or
contraindicated for medical reasons. About two million Americans, most ages
65 and older, live in long-term care facilities.
To read the press announcement about this proposal, go to:
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/media/press/release.asp?Counter=1534
To read the proposal, including information about how to submit comments, go
to:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/
edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-16160.pdf
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August 22, 2005
FDA APPROVES VAQTA HEPATITIS A VACCINE FOR USE IN CHILDREN AGES 12 MONTHS
AND OLDER
On August 11, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of
Merck's VAQTA hepatitis A vaccine for children ages 12 months and older. In
the original licensure, the age indication was for children ages two years
and older.
To view the supplemental license approval information on the FDA website, go
to:
http://www.fda.gov/cber/products/havamer081105.htm
To read the package insert, go to:
http://www.merck.com/newsroom/pdf/vaqta_pi_rev9413407.pdf
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August 22, 2005
NEW: AUGUST 2005 ISSUE OF VACCINATE WOMEN IS ON THE IAC WEBSITE
The August 2005 issue of Vaccinate Women is now available on the IAC
website. Hard copies were recently mailed to all members of the American
College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). This publication was
supported by a cooperative grant by the Division of Viral Hepatitis at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was distributed free of
charge by ACOG.
The new issue is filled with reliable, practical information intended to
assist obstetricians/gynecologists in providing immunization services in
their healthcare settings.
HOW TO READ VACCINATE WOMEN ON THE WEB
You can view selected articles from the table of contents below or download
the entire issue from the Web.
To view the table of contents with links to individual articles, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vw
Please note: The PDF file of the entire issue, linked below, is 297,245
bytes. For tips on downloading and printing PDF files, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/nslt.d/tips.htm
To download a ready-to-print (PDF) version of the entire issue, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vw/vw0805.pdf
TO ACCESS INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES
Following are descriptions of and direct links to each of the main Vaccinate
Women articles:
"Ask the Experts"
CDC immunization experts William L. Atkinson, MD, MPH, and Andrew T. Kroger,
MD, MPH, answer general immunization questions. Hepatitis specialists Eric
E. Mast, MD, MPH, and Linda A. Moyer, RN, answer hepatitis questions.
To access a ready-to-print (PDF) version, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vw/expert5.pdf
Note: No HTML version is available.
"Medical errors put infants at risk for chronic hepatitis B virus
infection--five case reports"
A state hepatitis B coordinator reports on five cases illustrating a variety
of medical errors that led to high-risk infants not receiving the
recommended hepatitis B prophylaxis within 12 hours of birth.
To access a ready-to-print (PDF) version, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/vw/errors5.pdf
Note: No HTML version is available.
"Labor & Delivery and Nursery Unit Guidelines to Prevent Hepatitis B Virus
Transmission"
A one-page summary of all the steps needed to ensure that every baby is
protected against hepatitis B. The piece includes detailed information for
infants born to HBsAg-negative mothers, infants born to HBsAg-positive
mothers, and infants born to mothers with unknown HBsAg status.
To access a ready-to-print (PDF) version, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2130per.pdf
To access a web-text (HTML) version, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p2130.htm
"Immunizations for Babies. . . "
This guide for parents is an easily understandable chart of the shot
schedule.
To access a ready-to-print (PDF) version, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4010imm.pdf
To access a web-text (HTML) version, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/catg.d/p4010.htm
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August 22, 2005
IMPORTANT: SEPTEMBER 15 IS THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMITTING COMMENTS ON PROPOSED
REVISIONS TO HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has led a nationwide
process to formulate and monitor national disease prevention and health
promotion objectives since 1979. In January 2000, HHS issued "Healthy People
2010," the third generation of ten-year objectives for the nation. "Healthy
People 2010" is now scheduled for a midcourse review process, and the Office
of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, on behalf of HHS, is soliciting
comments for proposed changes to the document.
The public is invited to comment electronically by going to
http://healthypeople.gov/data/midcourse Interested parties can also view
proposed changes via a link on that page.
Written comments must be submitted to the website by the close of business
day, EST, September 15, 2005. Lead agencies for the objectives will review
and consider comments received. For further information, write
hp2010@osophs.dhhs.gov
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August 22, 2005
TELECONFERENCE ON WORKING WITH PHYSICIANS TO IMPROVE ADULT VACCINATION RATES
IS SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 13
The National Immunization Coalition TA [technical assistance] Network has
scheduled a teleconference that will focus on strategies to engage private
providers in immunization promotion and ways to bridge the public
health/medical care divide. It will be held at 1:00PM, EDT, September 13.
NOTE: CDC will give updates on the current influenza vaccine supply at the
beginning of this teleconference and at the beginning of future
teleconferences throughout the influenza season.
The September 13 presenter is Nancy Bennett, MD, deputy director, Monroe
County Department of Public Health, Rochester, NY, and director, Center for
Rochester's Health. Dr. Bennett has led the department's efforts to improve
rates of adult immunization in Rochester and Monroe County for the last
decade. The Center for Rochester's Health was the recipient of the 2005
Excellence in Immunization Award for Addressing Disparities, which is
presented each year during National Immunization Awareness Month.
Teleconference participants will learn how to (1) identify the barriers to
implementing clinical practice guidelines related to adult vaccination, (2)
identify several strategies to engage practices in efforts to improve
vaccination rates, (3) identify specific practice-based strategies to reduce
vaccination rate racial disparities, and (4) discuss community approaches to
working with medical care providers.
To register for the teleconference, send an email to
IZTA@aed.org Include this message: "Sign
me up for the working with physicians teleconference."
For additional information, or to access earlier programs, go to:
http://www.izcoalitionsta.org/confcall.cfm |
