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Research is showing that respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination during pregnancy and new RSV immunizations for infants are making a powerful and positive impact on reducing RSV illness. A recently published article revealed that nirsevimab, an RSV immunization product recommended for all U.S. infants entering their first RSV season, provided strong protection against RSV.
Analysis of health records from six health care systems showed that nirsevimab was 77% effective in preventing RSV-associated emergency visits and 98% effective in preventing RSV-associated hospitalizations. This research highlights the importance of ongoing surveillance through the Vaccine Safety Datalink after new vaccines are licensed and recommended. One of the authors of this study, Dr. Malini DeSilva, a Minnesota physician, will be presenting at our upcoming Immunization Conference in April. To review the full article, visit PubMed: Effectiveness of nirsevimab among infants in their first RSV season in the United States, October 2023-March 2024: A test-negative design analysis, and for more information on RSV visit:
MDH has several options for keeping up to date with vaccine coverage trends as well as disease prevalence. You can find yearly, monthly, and for some diseases even weekly data trends on our website. A good place to start is to visit our Diseases Prevented by Vaccines page, which links to many different vaccine-preventable diseases or VPDs. Most of these webpages have links to disease statistics and incidence summaries.
You can also sign up to receive informational email updates, by going to the bottom of the above page and entering your email address into the “Get email updates” field. Once you enter your email you will be given an option to choose from a variety of email subscriptions. Two related to VPD updates include Vaccine-Preventable Disease Information and Respiratory Illness Activity in Minnesota.
Vaccine-Preventable Disease Information includes monthly updates on pertussis and varicella data, as well as other diseases as they occur. Respiratory Illness Activity in Minnesota provides weekly updates on Influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) trends and monthly updates on vaccination rates for these illnesses.
You can also stay up to date on vaccination trends for COVID-19 and influenza vaccine by visiting Vaccine Data: Influenza and COVID-19: Viral Respiratory Illness in Minnesota. This page is updated monthly and provides influenza and COVID-19 vaccination data for Minnesota residents by select demographics for the current respiratory season.
The next Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting is scheduled for Dec. 4 and 5. A detailed agenda is not yet available, but the draft agenda includes discussions on vaccine risk monitoring, the childhood and adolescent immunization schedule, vaccine adjuvants, and hepatitis B vaccines. Updates on ACIP workgroups will also be shared. The Federal Register notice states that recommendation votes and Vaccines for Children (VFC) votes may be scheduled for hepatitis B vaccine.
There has recently been an increase in confusing and inaccurate information about hepatitis B vaccine. For accurate information, we encourage you to use and share materials from:
The meeting is open to the public via live webcast. For more information visit CDC: ACIP Meeting Information.
Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) are not only required to be provided to patients but are also helpful tools when talking with patients about the risks and benefits of vaccines. Immunize.org has a new resource with QR codes linking to VISs for routinely recommended vaccines, VISs in multiple languages, and additional VIS-related clinical resources. Check out the page at QR Code Links to Routinely Recommended Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) (PDF).
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