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We have just about two weeks left in the Childhood Vaccine Program provider agreement renewal period. A little over half of enrolled providers have an approved 2020 Provider Agreement. If your clinic has not yet renewed, please submit your agreement in the IIS as soon as possible to ensure your clinic can continue to order publicly funded vaccines. We want to ensure providers are able to vaccinate as we continue to see decreases in immunization rates. To order vaccine, your annual agreement must be approved in the IIS. If you have already submitted your agreement and it is not yet approved, please review the comment section of your returned agreement for next steps. Many agreements have been returned for missing information. If you have questions or need assistance completing your agreement renewal, please use this guide, or contact us at WAChildhoodVaccines@doh.wa.gov.
**Tip: the Approver Comments section is at the top of your provider agreement in the IIS. Follow the instructions given here in gray text if your agreement has been returned.**
As of early April, about 80 COVID-19 vaccine candidates were reported to be under development worldwide in the pre-clinical stage. One candidate vaccine is currently in Phase II clinical trials, an adenovirus type 5 vaccine developed in China. Four candidate vaccines are currently undergoing Phase I clinical trials. The mRNA and DNA technologies used for the first COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials in the U.S. are novel and have the advantages of rapid vaccine development and scale-up. Results of these and additional clinical trials will be necessary to demonstrate safety and efficacy of these and other COVID-19 vaccines being developed. An Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) COVID-19 vaccine work group has been initiated to help inform COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.
The number of immunizations given to children is dropping during the COVID-19 pandemic, both in Washington and nationally. This leaves children and communities at risk.
Providers in Washington’s Childhood Vaccine Program reported they administered 30 percent fewer vaccines to 0-18 year olds in March of this year compared with the same month in previous years.
 In April, preliminarily we are seeing a 42 percent decrease, but that number may change as April data continue to be reported. The amount of vaccine ordered by providers in March also fell both in Washington state and nationwide. The CDC published an article in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on this topic. The Washington State Department of Health also sent a news release on this topic.
We are concerned that children aren’t getting all the vaccines they need to protect them. Slowing or stopping access to immunizations increases the risk that we could see an outbreak of a vaccine-preventable disease. Adding more outbreaks on top of COVID-19 not only would put more people’s health at risk, it also could overload the health care system.
Parents and guardians should make an appointment right away for any missed immunizations. Parents may be nervous about taking kids in to a clinic. But health care providers are making clinics safe for families to visit. Encourage parents and caregivers in your area to talk to their doctor, nurse, or clinic about ways they can get vaccinated. Find more information to share with parents and caregivers here.
It will take all of us to work together to make sure kids are getting immunized and to encourage parents to bring them in for missed appointments. We and the Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics encourage health care providers to ask their patients who have missed well-child appointments and vaccinations to come in. If needed, providers can prioritize care and vaccination of infants and young children (0 to 24 months of age), followed by children age 4 to 6 years. Find provider guidance here.
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