 Margaret (Peggy) Akers has been selected by the Maine Immunization Program as Maine’s Immunization Champion! The Immunization Champion Award is hosted by the Association of Immunization Managers (AIM).
Peggy has earned this award through her work as a Nurse Practitioner at Preble Street Teen Center, Maine Access Points, Portland Public Health and Northern Light, as well as with Seeds of Peace Youth Camp. She is committed to reducing barriers to vaccines, especially for the most vulnerable populations. In reducing barriers, Peggy has repeatedly helped students stay in school with required vaccines, protected the elderly from hospital admissions during cold and flu season, helped asylum seekers comply with immigration requirements and avoid deportation, and supported work readiness compliance. Peggy jumps in her car, rides ferry boats, travels by night and by day, makes house calls, hospital calls, airport calls and will generally hurdle any barrier to assure a person receives a needed vaccine. She has changed and touched more lives than could ever be counted.
Congratulations Peggy and thank you for all you do!
The Maine Immunization Program requires that all primary and secondary vaccine coordinators of VFC enrolled providers must complete the Vaccines for Children Training annually. Any new vaccine coordinator must complete the training prior to starting their role and on an annual basis moving forward.
The annual training for the 2024-2025 fiscal year will be updated and available on the MIP website starting on July 1, 2024 and must be completed no later than October 1.
Any training completed prior to July 1 will not count towards satisfying the requirement in the upcoming fiscal year (July 1, 2024– June 30, 2025). Providers must complete the training by October 1 of each fiscal year.
As we near the end of the Bridge Access Program (BAP) in August 2024, we would like to thank all who have participated for your continued dedication to ensuring vaccine access to all eligible individuals.
Attached below is a letter signed by the Immunization Services Department (ISD) and National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) directors regarding the ending of the Bridge Access Program.
Bridge Access Program Letter to Providers |
Any messages will be returned the following business day when normal operations resume.
Please remember to utilize your Vaccine Management Plan in case of power outage or other emergency.
As a friendly reminder, we are asking providers to require a signature when vaccine is delivered to your site.
If a vaccine order is delivered without obtaining a signature from staff, the shipment may go unnoticed, which may put the vaccine at risk of becoming compromised as a result of not being put into proper storage conditions in time.
On June 26, the U.S. CDC updated its recommendation for the use of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccines in people ages 60 and older. For this upcoming respiratory virus season, CDC recommends:
- Everyone ages 75 and older receive the RSV vaccine.
- People ages 60–74 who are at increased risk of severe RSV, meaning they have certain chronic medical conditions, such as lung or heart disease, or they live in nursing homes, receive the RSV vaccine.
This recommendation is for adults who did not get an RSV vaccine last year. The RSV vaccine is not currently an annual vaccine, meaning people do not need to get a dose every RSV season. Eligible adults can get an RSV vaccine at any time, but the best time to get vaccinated is in late summer and early fall before RSV usually starts to spread in communities.
The updated recommendation for people 60 and older replaces the recommendation made last year to simplify RSV vaccine decision-making for clinicians and the public.
Providers should recommend RSV vaccines to their eligible patients, as well as discuss what other vaccines they will need this fall to help prevent respiratory infections.
The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted on Thursday, June 27, 2024 to recommend a single dose of Merck's CAPVAXIVE for:
- Adults 65 years of age and older who have not previously received a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine or whose previous vaccination history is unknown;
- Adults 19-64 years of age with certain underlying medical conditions or other risk factors who have not previously received a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine or whose previous vaccination history is unknown;
- Adults 19 years of age and older who have started their pneumococcal vaccine series with PCV13 (pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine) but have not received all recommended PPSV23 (pneumococcal 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine) doses.
Shared clinical decision-making is recommended regarding use of a supplemental dose of CAPVAXIVE for adults 65 years of age and older who have completed their vaccine series with both PCV13 and PPSV23.
CAPVAXIVE covers 21 different serotypes of strep pneumoniae, including eight that are not targeted by any of the other available vaccines. |
