IAC Express 2007
Issue number 700: December 10, 2007
 
Contents of this Issue
Select a title to jump to the article.
  1. CDC publishes updated recommendation for meningococcal vaccination of at-risk children age 2-10 years
  2. Errors corrected in recommendations for eliminating hepatitis B transmission in infants, children, and teens
  3. In TV interview, NCIRD's Dr. Melinda Wharton refutes claims that vaccines cause harm
  4. Reminder: Satellite broadcast on Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases is scheduled for December 13
  5. Planned for January 17, 2008, CDC net conference will focus on shingles disease and vaccine, and adolescent vaccination recommendations
  6. Important: Be sure to give influenza vaccine throughout the influenza season--from fall 2007 through spring 2008
  7. CDC updates its Seasonal Flu web section with a Q&A on influenza vaccine efficacy
  8. Faces of Influenza schedules nationwide events for December 2007 and January 2008
  9. PandemicFlu.gov website posts toolkit of communication resources for healthcare community and others
  10. Deadline for abstract submission for NFID's Conference on Vaccine Research is February 15, 2008
  11. Abstract submission deadline for the National Conference on Immunization & Health Coalitions is February 1, 2008
  12. Subscribe to PATH's Vaccines for the Future e-newsletter
 
Abbreviations
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.
  
Issue 700: December 10, 2007
1.  CDC publishes updated recommendation for meningococcal vaccination of at-risk children age 2-10 years

CDC published "Notice to Readers: Recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for Use of Quadrivalent Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine (MCV4) in Children Aged 2-10 Years at Increased Risk for Invasive Meningococcal Disease" in the December 7 issue of MMWR. Portions of the recommendation are reprinted below.


On October 17, 2007, the Food and Drug Administration approved quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) (Menactra, Sanofi Pasteur, Swiftwater, Pennsylvania) for use in children aged 2-10 years, in addition to its prior approval for use in persons aged 11-55 years. Previous Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations called for routine vaccination with meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine (MPSV4) (Menomune, Sanofi Pasteur) of children aged 2-10 years who are at increased risk for meningococcal disease. These children include travelers to or residents of countries in which meningococcal disease is hyperendemic or epidemic, children who have terminal complement component deficiencies, and children who have anatomic or functional asplenia. This notice provides updated recommendations for meningococcal vaccination among children aged 2-10 years at increased risk for meningococcal disease. . . .

At its October meeting, ACIP revised its recommendation to state that MCV4 is preferable to MPSV4 for vaccination of children aged 2-10 years who are at increased risk for meningococcal disease. These children include travelers to or residents of countries in which meningococcal disease is hyperendemic or epidemic, children who have terminal complement component deficiencies, and children who have anatomic or functional asplenia. Additionally, MCV4 is preferred to MPSV4 for use among children aged 2-10 years for control of meningococcal disease outbreaks. Providers may elect to vaccinate children aged 2-10 years who are infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). For children aged 2-10 years who have previously received MPSV4 and remain at increased risk for meningococcal disease, ACIP recommends vaccination with MCV4 at 3 years after receipt of MPSV4. Children who last received MPSV4 more than 3 years ago and remain at risk for meningococcal disease should be vaccinated with MCV4 as soon as possible. For children at lifelong increased risk for meningococcal disease, subsequent doses of MCV4 likely will be needed. ACIP will make recommendations for revaccination with MCV4 as more data on duration of protection become available.

Persons with a history of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) might be at increased risk for GBS after MCV4 vaccination; therefore, a history of GBS is a precaution to administering MCV4. For children with a history of GBS, MPSV4 is an acceptable alternative for short-term (i.e., 3-5 years) protection against meningococcal disease.

The ACIP meningococcal vaccine workgroup is considering options for general use of MCV4 among children aged 2-10 years. Recommendations will be presented at a future ACIP meeting. Recommendations for use of MCV4 in persons aged 11-55 years, including a recommendation for routine vaccination with MCV4 of persons aged 11-18 years, have been published previously and remain unchanged.


To access a web-text (HTML) version of the complete article, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5648a4.htm

To access a ready-to-print (PDF) version of this issue of MMWR, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5648.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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2 Errors corrected in recommendations for eliminating hepatitis B transmission in infants, children, and teens

CDC published "Errata: Vol. 54, No. RR-16" in the December 7 issue of MMWR. It concerns errors that appeared in the MMWR Recommendations and Reports titled "A Comprehensive Immunization Strategy to Eliminate Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus Infection in the United States: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)--Part 1: Immunization of Infants, Children, and Adolescents," which was published December 23, 2005. The errata are reprinted below in their entirety.

The errata concern one correction to Table 2 of the recommendations and several corrections to Table 4. It is easier to follow the text of the errata with the corrected Table 4 at hand. Here is the link to the corrected Table 4: http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hbv/pdfs/correctedtable4.pdf


In the MMWR Recommendations and Reports, "A Comprehensive Immunization Strategy to Eliminate Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus Infection in the United States: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)--Part 1: Immunization of Infants, Children, and Adolescents," the following errors occurred:

On page 8, in Table 2, in the first row, "Infants (<1 yr)," under the column heading "Combination vaccine, Pediarix, Dose (microgram)," the text should read, "10."

On page 9, in Table 4, under the column heading "Recommendation," the second bullet should read, "Administer 3 additional hepatitis B vaccine doses with single-antigen vaccine at ages 1, 2-3, and 6 mos or hepatitis B-containing combination vaccine at ages 2, 4, and 6 mos (Pediarix) or 2, 4, and 12-15 mos (Comvax)."

The fourth bullet should read, "Test for HBsAg and antibody to HBsAg 1-2 mos after completion of >=3 doses of a licensed hepatitis B vaccine series (i.e., at age 9-18 mos, generally at the next well-child visit). Testing should not be performed before age 9 mos nor within 4 wks of the most recent vaccine dose."

The seventh bullet should read, "Administer 3 additional hepatitis B vaccine doses with single-antigen vaccine at ages 1, 2-3, and 6 mos or hepatitis B-containing combination vaccine at ages 2, 4, and 6 mos (Pediarix) or 2, 4, and 12-15 mos (Comvax)."

The 10th bullet should read, "Complete the hepatitis B vaccine series with single-antigen vaccine at ages 2 mos and 6-18 mos or hepatitis B-containing combination vaccine at ages 2, 4, and 6 mos (Pediarix) or 2, 4, and 12-15 mos (Comvax)."

The following footnote should be added to Table 4: "The final dose in the vaccine series should not be administered before age 24 weeks (164 days)."

The corrected Table 4 is available in its entirety at http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hbv/pdfs/correctedtable4.pdf


To access a web-text (HTML) version of the errata, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5648a6.htm

To access a ready-to-print (PDF) version of "A Comprehensive Immunization Strategy to Eliminate Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus Infection in the United States: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)--Part 1: Immunization of Infants, Children, and Adolescents," go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/rr/rr5416.pdf

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3 In TV interview, NCIRD's Dr. Melinda Wharton refutes claims that vaccines cause harm

On November 28, Dr. Melinda Wharton, deputy director, NCIRD, was interviewed on NBC's Atlanta affiliate. In the course of the 30-minute interview, Dr. Wharton addressed a number of vaccine-safety issues, among them the claim made by actress Jenny McCarthy that vaccines harm children, specifically that they cause autism. McCarthy, mother of an autistic child, is the author of the recently published book "Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism."

To view Dr. Wharton's interview, go to: http://www.11alive.com/video/player.aspx?aid=83962&bw= PLEASE NOTE: The video of Dr. Wharton's interview may be preceded by a short ad. Once the ad stops, the interview will begin immediately. Also, please note that the video of Dr. Wharton's interview will be available for only three months after the date it was aired (November 28, 2007).

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4 Reminder: Satellite broadcast on Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases is scheduled for December 13

The CDC-sponsored satellite broadcast Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases is scheduled for December 13 from noon to 3:30PM ET. The course is designed to provide information on case investigation, outbreak control, and disease reporting for vaccine-preventable diseases. Continuing education (CE) credit is available.

The broadcast will feature a live Q&A session in which participants nationwide can interact with the course instructors by toll-free telephone lines, fax, and email. A webcast will be available through the Internet for one month following the broadcast.

For complete information, including course materials, registration, and details on accessing the broadcast and qualifying for CE credit, go to: http://www2a.cdc.gov/phtn/vpd-07

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5 Planned for January 17, 2008, CDC net conference will focus on shingles disease and vaccine, and adolescent vaccination recommendations

The next NCIRD live Net Conference will cover shingles (zoster) disease and vaccine and adolescent vaccination recommendations. It is scheduled from noon to 1PM ET on January 17, 2008. Dr. Rafael Harpaz will speak on zoster and zoster vaccine; Dr. Shannon Stokley will speak on adolescent vaccination recommendations. Dr. Andrew Kroger will moderate. Participation in the Q&A section of the program is available by phone and Internet.

For additional information, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/ed/ciinc

This is a limited-entry event. Registration will close on January 15 at midnight ET or when the course is full. To register, go to: http://www2.cdc.gov/nip/isd/ciinc

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6 Important: Be sure to give influenza vaccine throughout the influenza season--from fall 2007 through spring 2008

Influenza vaccination should continue from now into the early months of 2008. Visit the following websites often to find the information you need to keep vaccinating. Both are continually updated with the latest resources.

The National Influenza Vaccine Summit website at http://www.preventinfluenza.org

CDC's Seasonal Flu web section at http://www.cdc.gov/flu

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7 CDC updates its Seasonal Flu web section with a Q&A on influenza vaccine efficacy

CDC recently updated a patient Q&A on its Seasonal Flu web section: "Questions & Answers: How Well Does Seasonal Flu Vaccine Work?" (11/30/07).

To access this resource, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/whatsnew.htm#updated and click on the pertinent link.

To access a broad range of continually updated information on seasonal influenza, avian influenza, pandemic influenza, and swine influenza, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/flu

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8 Faces of Influenza schedules nationwide events for December 2007 and January 2008

Faces of Influenza, an educational website of the American Lung Association, recently announced that it will hold four influenza-related events for the public in December 2007 and January 2008. The dates and locations follow:

  • December 11--Detroit
  • December 13--Philadelphia
  • January 8--Seattle
  • January 15--Minneapolis/St. Paul

For information on the events, contact Elizabeth Margulies at emargulies@lungusa.org

For information on Faces of Influenza, go to:
http://www.facesofinfluenza.org

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9 PandemicFlu.gov website posts toolkit of communication resources for healthcare community and others

As part of the federal government's efforts to prepare the nation for pandemic influenza, the PandemicFlu.gov website recently posted a toolkit of comprehensive communication resources. Titled "Take the Lead: Make an Impact!" the toolkit is intended for the healthcare community, employers, faith-based organizations, and neighborhood groups. It includes sample newsletter and email messages; posters, flyers, talking points, and checklists; and suggested activities such as brown-bag meetings, food drives, and more.

For additional information, go to:
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/takethelead

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10.  Deadline for abstract submission for NFID's Conference on Vaccine Research is February 15, 2008

The eleventh annual Conference on Vaccine Research, sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), will be held in Baltimore on May 5-7, 2008. The deadline for abstract submission is February 15, 2008.

To access conference information, including instructions for submitting an abstract and an online abstract submission form, go to: http://www.nfid.org/conferences/vaccine08

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11.  Abstract submission deadline for the National Conference on Immunization & Health Coalitions is February 1, 2008

The eighth National Conference on Immunization & Health Coalitions will be held in San Francisco on May 21-23, 2008. The deadline for abstract submission is February 1, 2008; the deadline for early-bird registration is February 28.

To access comprehensive conference information, go to:
http://www.sfimmunize.org/page2.html

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12.  Subscribe to PATH's Vaccines for the Future e-newsletter

Vaccines for the Future provides a periodic update on PATH's vaccine development program, which works to develop new, appropriate, and affordable vaccines against the two leading causes of death in children under age five--pneumonia and diarrhea.

To subscribe to Vaccines for the Future, send a message to pvs@path.org

To learn more about and to subscribe to other PATH e-newsletters, go to:
http://www.path.org/news/e-newsletters.php

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About IZ Express

IZ Express is supported in part by Grant No. 1NH23IP922654 from CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Its contents are solely the responsibility of Immunize.org and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC.

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Editorial Information

  • Editor-in-Chief
    Kelly L. Moore, MD, MPH
  • Managing Editor
    John D. Grabenstein, RPh, PhD
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    Courtnay Londo, MA
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