Our
IAC Express odometer turns over a big milestone this week. Today’s the perfect day to look back and reflect on 23 years of work to help front-line vaccination workers across the USA.
IAC Express content reaches more than 50 other countries as well. We survey our readers regularly and you tell us that the most important thing we can do to help you is to provide the week’s practical news and information about vaccinations. So that’s what a talented team of a dozen hard workers strive to do for you each week.
IAC issued
IAC Express Number 1 on November 14, 1997, containing exactly two stories: new ACIP hepatitis B recommendations and a Spanish-language immunization video. Nowadays, the average issue covers about 20 topics. The initial email subscribership was 102 recipients.
IAC Express Issue #500 was published on December 30, 2004. It added to IAC’s collection of Unprotected People Stories, reports of people who have suffered or died from vaccine-preventable diseases. This was report #71, telling the story of a Wisconsin teenager who survived clinical rabies. That issue reached 18,513 email addresses.
IAC Express Issue #1,000, sporting the now familiar blue-and-white banner, was distributed on June 19, 2012 with eleven stories, reaching 45,588 addressees. Topics included a newly licensed vaccine, resources from Every Child By Two (now rebranded Vaccinate Your Family), a new staff education piece of current VIS dates (still a popular item), the release of the 2012 edition of AAP’s
Red Book, and an
MMWR supplement on clinical preventive services among adults.
IAC Executive Director Deborah Wexler reflects: “After 23 years, what makes me the proudest is the outstanding work of IAC’s staff members who work every day of the week, 51 weeks a year, to bring our readers the most up-to-date news and information on the practical aspects of immunization. I’m thrilled about our growing subscribership as well. At this point, we reach more than 51,400 subscribers, many of whom forward their copies onward to additional people.”
The entire collection of back issues is archived for you at the right-hand column of our
IAC Express gateway page,
www.immunize.org/express/.
IAC also thanks the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for its faithful financial support since 1995, as well as many other sponsors along the way, enabling our team to bring you the news you can use.
We want to grow our
IAC Express subscriber list even more, so invite your colleagues to get their own email copy every Wednesday (plus periodic Special Editions). Go to
www.immunize.org/subscribe/.
Do you have suggestions for making
IAC Express even better? We’re always interested in hearing your ideas. Tell us how
IAC Express content helps you in your setting. Just email us at
admin@immunize.org.
We do all this work for you, to help you be better vaccinators. Thanks for keeping people healthy!
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CDC issues interim guidance for immunization services during pandemic
On June 9, CDC issued Interim Guidance for Immunization Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic to help immunization providers in a variety of clinical settings plan for safe vaccine administration during the COVID-19 pandemic. CDC will update this guidance as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves.
Highlights include:
- Considerations for routine vaccination of all recommended vaccinations for children, adolescents, and adults, including pregnant women
- General practices for the safe delivery of vaccination services, including considerations for alternative vaccination sites
- Strategies for catch-up vaccinations
CDC encourages all stakeholders to share this guidance with your members and other partners.
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NAIIS (the Summit) announces recipients of the 2020 Immunization Excellence Awards
The National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit (NAIIS) issued a news release on May 30 announcing the recipients of the 2020 Immunization Excellence Awards. These awards recognize the extraordinary contributions of individuals and organizations towards improved vaccination rates within their communities in the past year. The winners in the three categories are the following:
Laura Scott 2019–20 Outstanding Influenza Season Activities Award
- National Winner: Sawbones: A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine
“Immunization Neighborhood” Adult Immunization Champion Award
- National Winner: Fremont County Department of Public Health and Environment
Corporate Campaign Award
- National Winner: The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society
The names of those receiving honorable mention awards are available in the NAIIS May 30 news release. To learn about the accomplishments of the award winners, read the complete news release or the Summit Awards booklet, which will be posted soon.
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Reminder: IAC adds even more new materials to its Repository of Resources for Maintaining Immunization during COVID-19 Pandemic
In May, IAC launched the Repository of Resources for Maintaining Immunization during the COVID-19 Pandemic to assist in maintaining routine immunization rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Located on the website of the National Network of Immunization Coalitions, a project of IAC, this repository includes links to both national and state-level policies and guidance; advocacy materials, including talking points, webinars, press releases, articles, and social media posts; and telehealth resources. These resources are intended for healthcare settings, state and local health departments, professional societies, immunization coalitions, advocacy groups, and the community to use in their efforts to sustain routine immunizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The more than 110 resources that appear in the repository come from the federal government, nationally recognized healthcare organizations, state health departments, state immunization coalitions, and other organizations devoted to disseminating accurate immunization information.
These resources can be sorted and searched by date, title, geographic area, source, type, age category, or setting.
If you have a resource to submit to the repository, please send a message to info@immunizationcoalitions.org.
Access the repository to view the range of valuable resources available to support the patients, families, and communities you serve.
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CDC publishes “Multistate Mumps Outbreak Originating from Asymptomatic Transmission at a Nebraska Wedding—Six States, August–October 2019”
CDC published Multistate Mumps Outbreak Originating from Asymptomatic Transmission at a Nebraska Wedding—Six States, August–October 2019 in the June 5 issue of MMWR. The media summary is reprinted below.
On August 26, 2019, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services was notified by a South Dakota hospital of three suspected mumps cases in patients who had attended a wedding in Nebraska on August 3. A guest list with approximately 325 attendees was obtained from the bride who identified 25 wedding attendees that she believed to be ill, including an attendee who developed symptoms less than 24 hours after the wedding. Mumps is most infectious just before and during onset of parotitis, and the timing of the event likely contributed to transmission among exposed attendees. In total, 62 cases were identified among attendees of the wedding and additional contacts in the ill attendees’ communities in six states. The patients’ average age was 35 years, and 41 of the 62 had received at least two doses of MMR vaccine. Mumps symptoms are milder and complications are less frequent in vaccinated people, and no serious mumps complications or hospitalizations were identified among those affected by this outbreak.
Access the MMWR article in HTML format or in PDF format.
Related Link
- MMWR gateway page provides access to MMWR Weekly, MMWR Recommendations and Reports, MMWR Surveillance Summaries, and MMWR Supplements
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Two healthcare organizations join IAC's Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll for mandatory healthcare worker vaccination
There are now 1,139 organizations enrolled in IAC's Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll. The honor roll recognizes hospitals, long-term care facilities (LTCFs), medical practices, pharmacies, professional organizations, health departments, and other government entities that have taken a stand for patient safety by implementing mandatory influenza vaccination policies for healthcare personnel.
Since April 29, when IAC Express last reported on the Influenza Vaccination Honor Roll, two additional healthcare organizations have been enrolled.
IAC urges qualifying healthcare organizations to apply by visiting the Application page.
Newly added healthcare organizations, hospitals, government agencies, medical practices, long-term care facilities, and pharmacies:
- Oklahoma City Indian Clinic, Oklahoma City, OK
- Hillcrest Medical Center, Tulsa, OK
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Not-to-miss immunization articles in the news
These recent articles convey the potential risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and the importance of vaccination.
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Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus information
CDC, NIH, WHO, and Johns Hopkins are closely monitoring the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Be sure to check the resources below for the latest information. Stay in touch with your local and state health departments.
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IAC HANDOUTS
IAC updates its popular piece for the public, "Hepatitis A, B, and C: Learn the Differences"
IAC updated its popular piece for the public titled Hepatitis A, B, and C: Learn the Differences. Changes were made, for example, to the hepatitis A section to include additional settings in which unvaccinated individuals should be assumed to be at risk and to the hepatitis C section to emphasize testing all adults, including pregnant women.
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IAC revises its hepatitis A standing orders templates for both children/teens and adults
IAC recently revised its two standing orders templates for administering hepatitis A vaccine, shown below. The revisions include updated ACIP recommendations (e.g., expanded indications for vaccination and guidance on administration of IG to HIV-positive adults within 2 weeks of hepatitis A virus exposure).
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IAC updates hepatitis A vaccination handouts for adults, including one for gay and bisexual men
IAC updated three hepatitis A vaccination handouts for adult patients, including one for gay and bisexual men, shown below. Changes were made to incorporate additional groups needing vaccination, including all unvaccinated children and teens, people with HIV infection, and unvaccinated participants in settings with certain high-risk clientele. There also were changes made to incorporate the most current data on new hepatitis A infections, hepatitis A-related deaths, and vaccine efficacy.
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