Issue Number 336            September 16, 2002

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE

  1. Fully revised! IAC's indispensable Directory of Immunization Resources now more useful than ever
  2. New! CMS releases 2002-03 Q&A guide for Medicare coverage of flu and pneumococcal vaccines
  3. Now available! NIH Consensus Development Conference Statement on the Management of Hepatitis C: 2002
  4. National Immunization Program seeks senior medical epidemiologist to lead its Safety Signals Team
  5. New positions now open in the Program Support Branch, Immunization Services Division, National Immunization Program
  6. International Symposium on Viral Hepatitis and Liver Disease set for April 6-10, 2003, in Sydney, Australia

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September 16, 2002
FULLY REVISED! IAC'S INDISPENSABLE DIRECTORY OF IMMUNIZATION RESOURCES NOW MORE USEFUL THAN EVER

Health professionals and anyone else who works in immunization will be delighted to know that the Immunization Action Coalition has updated its Directory of Immunization Resources to include the latest in staff- and patient-education materials. Best of all, many materials are free on the web or with just a toll-free phone call!

Based on information supplied by government and nonprofit organizations, professional associations, and private industry, the newly revised Directory is packed with information vital to health professionals, their patients, and policymakers. It includes updated phone numbers and web addresses for more than 350 individual listings of print materials, websites, videos, organizations, and toll-free hotlines.

Conveniently organized into 21 chapters, the Directory covers a broad array of topics. Examples include resources for childhood, adolescent, and adult immunization; contacts at state health departments and the federal government; and resources for vaccine safety.

In addition to the listings, the Directory contains information for ordering more than 165 print and video education materials from the Immunization Action Coalition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many other organizations. Most of the print materials are free and can be endlessly reprinted free of charge.

Updated throughout the year with new resources and information, the HTML version of the revised directory is available at:
http://www.immunize.org/resources/contents.htm

The camera-ready (PDF version) of the revised directory is available at:
http://www.immunize.org/resources/resource.pdf

WARNING: The PDF format of the entire publication is a very large file; some printers are unable to  print a file of this size. For some helpful tips on downloading and printing PDF files, click here: http://www.immunize.org/nslt.d/tips.htm

To save yourself the time of downloading and printing the 54-page Directory, consider ordering printed copies for you and the staff who work in immunization in your health care setting. The print version is a bargain at $4 a copy when you buy five or more copies. You can order one copy for $10; two for $13; three for $15; four for $17; five for $20. The price includes postage and handling for orders shipped within the United States.

There are three ways to order print copies of the Directory:

  1. Online (credit card only; U.S. addresses only) at: https://www.immunize.org/resources/index.htm#ordernow
     
  2. Fax (credit card or purchase order) at: (651) 647-9131.
     
  3. Mail (check, credit card, or purchase order) to: Immunization Action Coalition, 1573 Selby Ave., Ste. 234, St. Paul, MN 55104. Include your complete mailing information and phone number. No abbreviations, please.

If you are placing an order from outside the United States, call IAC at (651) 647-9009 to determine additional shipping cost.
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September 16, 2002
NEW! CMS RELEASES 2002-03 Q&A GUIDE FOR MEDICARE COVERAGE OF FLU AND PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINES

If you vaccinate adults under Medicare, the newly released 39-page "2002-03 Immunizers' Question &  Answer Guide to Medicare Coverage of Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccinations" is a must-have publication.

Developed by the Center for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS), formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), and intended for providers, the guide "includes information on the  vaccination benefit, immunization guidelines, coverage policy, payment policy, mass immunization, centralized billing, and managed care. CMS also provides step-by-step instructions ... and a Video explaining how to bill Medicare (roster or provider) for these vaccinations," according to CMS's Influenza/Pneumococcal Campaign web page.

To access the CMS Influenza/Pneumococcal Campaign web page, go to: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/preventiveservices/2.asp

For more information, contact Jackie Harley at jharley@cms.hhs.gov or (410) 786-7222.

For a camera-ready (PDF) version of the Q&A guide and the step-by-step billing instructions, go to: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/preventiveservices/2i.pdf

For a free copy of the 20-minute billing video, contact Jackie Harley at jharley@cms.hhs.gov or (410) 786-7222.
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September 16, 2002
NOW AVAILABLE! NIH CONSENSUS DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE STATEMENT ON THE MANAGEMENT OF HEPATITIS C: 2002

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has made the "Consensus Development Conference Statement on the Management of Hepatitis C: 2002" available on the Office of Medical Applications of Research (OMAR) web page.

The consensus development conference, held June 10-12, 2002, "was convened to provide an update to a 1997 conference on the same topic. This consensus panel broke away from its 1997 predecessors by expanding the scope of patients eligible for treatment to include those who use injected drugs, consume alcohol, suffer from co-morbid conditions such as depression, or who are coinfected with HIV. Similarly, panelists cautioned against the exclusion of children and older adults from treatment and further research," according to an NIH news release, dated June 12, 2002.

To view or download the statement, go to:
http://consensus.nih.gov/cons/116/091202116cdc_statement.htm

To view or download a camera-ready (PDF) version of the statement, go to:
http://consensus.nih.gov/cons/116/Hepc091202.pdf

Videotapes of the "Consensus Development Conference on Management of Hepatitis C: 2002" are available for purchase through September 20, 2002 only. The price for the set of 11 VHS videotapes is $140 plus shipping ($5-$12 depending on shipping address). The price may drop if enough orders are taken. To find out more about placing an order, contact the Consensus Development Program Information Center at (888) 644-2667, or via email at consensus_statements@mail.nih.gov
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September 16, 2002
NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM SEEKS SENIOR MEDICAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST TO LEAD ITS SAFETY SIGNALS TEAM

The Immunization Safety Branch, National Immunization Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA, announced that it is recruiting for a senior medical epidemiologist to lead its Safety Signals Team. The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) is making the information available here as a service to IAC EXPRESS readers. The announcement states:

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The skills sought include: leadership, scientific curiosity, established research track record, and willingness to work for the public good. U.S. citizenship is not a requirement.

The Safety Signals Team currently consists of approximately 10 members and oversees three major vaccine safety infrastructures:

  1. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS): the national passive surveillance system in the U.S., operated jointly with the US FDA and a contractor. In operation since 1990 and receives  [approximately] 13,000 reports/year.
     
  2. Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) centers: a network of tertiary medical centers specializing in standardized clinical evaluation and management of persons with interesting vaccine adverse events (e.g., from VAERS). CISA was established in 2001 to serve as a new clinical subspecialty to advance knowledge of immunization safety at the individual level.
     
  3. The Brighton Collaboration: an international voluntary collaboration to develop and implement standardized case definitions for adverse events following immunizations. The Collaboration was  launched in 2000 and aims to develop 50-100 case definitions over the next few years.

The Immunization Safety Branch, with [approximately] 40 staff and fellows, is among the largest foci for this type of research worldwide. Recent projects ranged from rotavirus vaccine intussusception, thimerosal and neurodevelopment disorders, to safety of anthrax and smallpox vaccines.

If interested, please contact Robert (Bob) Chen at bchen@cdc.gov
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September 16, 2002
NEW POSITIONS NOW OPEN IN THE PROGRAM SUPPORT BRANCH, IMMUNIZATION SERVICES DIVISION, NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM

The National Immunization Program (NIP) distributed information about the following position openings to NIP grantees. The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) is reprinting it here as a service to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The closing date for the positions is Tuesday, September 24, 2002. The information follows:

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The Program Support Branch, Immunization Services Division, National Immunization Program is expanding. We will soon be announcing several new positions [the positions were announced August 28, 2002] through "Vacancy Announcements" as Public Health Analyst/Public Health Advisor positions. In order to attract a wide range of skilled applicants, the jobs will be announced as GS 12/13 positions.  This allows GS 13 staff to apply and affords opportunity for promotion potential to those in lower grades. We anticipate at least two separate vacancy announcements with one or more persons being hired from each . . .

Separate positions will be established for VFC consultation, vaccine management, and vaccine stockpile/influenza planning. There will be extensive responsibilities in almost all areas of vaccine management which include: ordering, distribution, cold chain, and evaluation. Project Officer oversight will include extensive work with the Procurement and Grants Office, advising on vaccine contracts, and fiscal budget analysis. Interaction with grantees and vaccine manufacturers occurs on a daily basis.  Duties include responsibility for or input into the approval of all vaccine orders placed through CDC's ordering system as well as work on vaccine trends, vaccine forecasting, and vaccine accountability. The annual vaccine budget approximates $1 billion per year.

A number of other responsibilities include but are not limited to linking population data with ACIP schedule recommendations and vaccine forecasting, Biologic Surveillance Reporting, compilation of requirements for school and day care attendance, and extensive correspondence.

Knowledge of VACMAN is beneficial. Excellent communication skills and analytical reasoning are pre-requisites and skill in the application of computer software programs is most helpful.

These are high profile positions with a myriad of important responsibilities. We encourage your consideration of these exciting opportunities.

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To view the Public Health Analyst position announcement, click here:
http://www2.cdc.gov/hrmo/viewdetail.asp?AnnouncementNumber=1-02-686

To view the Public Health Advisor position announcement, click here:
http://www2.cdc.gov/hrmo/viewdetail.asp?AnnouncementNumber=1-02-687

For further information, contact H. Lynn Carroll at hlc1@cdc.gov or at (404) 639-8544.
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September 16, 2002
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON VIRAL HEPATITIS & LIVER DISEASE SET FOR APRIL 6-10, 2003, IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

The Eleventh International Symposium on Viral Hepatitis & Liver Disease will be held April 6-10, 2003, at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre.

For more information on the symposium program, trade exhibit, and registration, go to: http://www.tourhosts.com.au/isvhld

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
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    John D. Grabenstein, RPh, PhD
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    Courtnay Londo, MA
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