Issue Number 156            April 10, 2000

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE

  1. FDA approves Engerix-B preservative-free vaccine
  2. National Infant Immunization Week is only one week away!
  3. CDC publishes article on progress in development of immunization registries
  4. CDC publishes correction to website address for aluminum in vaccines workshop

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(1)
April 10, 2000
FDA APPROVES ENGERIX-B PRESERVATIVE-FREE VACCINE

On March 28, 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the newly reformulated preservative-free Engerix-B pediatric/adolescent (10mcg per 0.5ml) hepatitis B vaccine manufactured by SmithKline Beecham. This vaccine product no longer contains thimerosal as a preservative.
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(2)
April 7, 2000
NATIONAL INFANT IMMUNIZATION WEEK IS ONLY ONE WEEK AWAY!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published an article titled "National Infant Immunization Week--April 16-22, 2000" in the April 7, 2000, issue of the MMWR. The article reads as follows:

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NATIONAL INFANT IMMUNIZATION WEEK--APRIL 16-22, 2000

National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) is April 16-22, 2000; this year's theme is "You Gave Them Life...Protect It." This week emphasizes the importance of timely infant and childhood vaccination. Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to protect children, especially infants and young children, from potentially serious diseases. Because of increased vaccination efforts in the United States, eight vaccine-preventable diseases are at or near record low levels. In 1999, 86 measles cases, eight congenital rubella cases, one diphtheria case, and no wild poliovirus cases were reported.

Approximately 11,000 babies are born each day in the United States; they need 16-20 doses of vaccine before age 2 years. Although vaccination coverage levels are high for preschool-aged children, approximately 1 million 2-year-old children are missing one or more of the recommended vaccine doses.

During NIIW, states and communities will sponsor activities designed to highlight the need to achieve and maintain high childhood vaccination coverage rates. In addition, CDC will launch a new television public service announcement (PSA) and two radio PSAs in Spanish. Additional information about NIIW and childhood vaccinations is available from CDC's National Immunization Program World-Wide Web site, http://www.cdc.gov/nip or the National Immunization Information Hotline, telephone (800) 232-2522 (English) or (800) 232-0233 (Spanish).

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To obtain the text version (HTML format) of this MMWR article, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4913a1.htm

For a detailed list of upcoming immunization and hepatitis conferences, visit the Immunization Action Coalition's "Calendar of Events" at: http://www.immunize.org/calendar/

For information on how to obtain a free electronic subscription to the MMWR, see the instructions that follow article four below.
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(3)
April 7, 2000
CDC PUBLISHES ARTICLE ON PROGRESS IN DEVELOPMENT OF IMMUNIZATION REGISTRIES

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published an article titled "Progress in Development of Immunization Registries--United States, 1999" in the April 7, 2000, issue of the MMWR. This study is the first attempt to quantify and evaluate state- and community-based immunization registry development in the United States. The article states in part:

"Community-based and state-based immunization registries are confidential, population-based, computerized information systems that contain data about children's vaccinations and represent an important tool to increase and sustain high vaccination coverage. Immunization registries consolidate vaccination records for children from multiple providers, provide a vaccination needs assessment for each child, generate reminder and recall vaccination notices, produce an official vaccination record, and provide practice-specific and community-based vaccination coverage assessments. One of the Healthy People 2010 national objectives is to increase to 95 percent the proportion of children aged less than 6 years who are enrolled in a fully operational population-based immunization registry....

"...data suggest that substantial progress has been made in U.S. communities and states in enrolling children, recruiting providers, and implementing registry functional standards.

"Substantial challenges remain in developing registries. One of the greatest challenges is balancing the need to protect the privacy of patients, providers, and other users of these systems with the need to gather and share information to protect the public health and provide clinical benefit to persons....

"Additional information on immunization registries is available from CDC's immunization registry website: http://www.cdc.gov/nip/registry; telephone (800) 799-7062; or e-mail, siisclear@cdc.gov."

To obtain the full text version (HTML format) of this article, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4913a2.htm

For information on how to obtain a free electronic subscription to the MMWR, see the instructions that follow article four below.
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(4)
April 7, 2000
CDC PUBLISHES CORRECTION TO WEBSITE ADDRESS FOR ALUMINUM IN VACCINES WORKSHOP

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published "Errata: Vol. 49, No. 12" in the April 7, 2000, issue of the MMWR. The second paragraph of this errata states a correction to the "Notice to Readers" titled
"National Vaccine Program Office Workshop on Aluminum in Vaccines," which was published in the March 31, 2000, issue of the MMWR. The website address provided in the original article was incorrect. The correct website address is: http://www.cdc.gov/od/nvpo/calendar.htm


HOW TO OBTAIN A FREE ELECTRONIC SUBSCRIPTION TO THE MMWR:
To obtain a free electronic subscription to the "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" (MMWR), visit CDC's MMWR website at: http://www2.cdc.gov/mmwr Select "Free MMWR Subscription" from the menu at the left of the screen. Once you have submitted the required information, weekly issues of the MMWR and all new ACIP statements (published as MMWR's "Recommendations and Reports") will arrive automatically by e-mail.

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Editorial Information

  • Editor-in-Chief
    Kelly L. Moore, MD, MPH
  • Managing Editor
    John D. Grabenstein, RPh, PhD
  • Associate Editor
    Sharon G. Humiston, MD, MPH
  • Writer/Publication Coordinator
    Taryn Chapman, MS
    Courtnay Londo, MA
  • Style and Copy Editor
    Marian Deegan, JD
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    Arkady Shakhnovich
    Jermaine Royes
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    Laurel H. Wood, MPA
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    Kayla Ohlde

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