2021-2022 Flu Season

Flu season is coming soon.

We anticipate childhood flu vaccine availability around Labor Day this year.

As in the past, once vaccine is available, expect adjustments to orders early on to accommodate availability for all providers. Please try to schedule larger flu clinics for late September or early October when we anticipate greater supply availability.

The manufacturers ship the vaccine to McKesson, then McKesson notifies the CDC of the quantity received. The CDC then makes an allocation for each State. See diagram below.

Once Washington has enough allocated doses, we will send out notification and add the Vaccine Order Set to all providers.

The Flu Vaccines At-A-Glance for the upcoming flu season can be found on the IIS Training Materials Portal or the Publicly Supplied Vaccines Webpage.

Continue to look for further information in the Vaccine Blurbs communication. If you do not receive the bi-weekly Vaccine Blurbs please contact us at WAChildhoodVaccines@doh.wa.gov.

August Is National Immunization Awareness Month

National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) is an annual observance held in August to highlight the importance of vaccination for people of all ages.

Resources are available to help you encourage routinely recommended vaccines for a variety of audiences:

• Two NIAM toolkits to help communicate with healthcare professionals and patients and parents
• Tailored sample newsletters for healthcare professionals or for parents and patients
• Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedules
• Adult Vaccine Assessment Tool  In addition, for those who are eligible, resources are available to aid conversations and inform individuals about the importance of COVID-19 vaccination:

• Talking to Recipients about COVID-19 Vaccination
• Your COVID-19 Vaccination
• COVID-19 Vaccines for Children and Teens

Join us during August, and beyond, to help encourage everyone to get caught up with routine vaccinations. On social media, use #ivax2protect to join the conversation and share content and resources promoting routine vaccination across the lifespan. 

#VaxxedForClass: The Importance of Routine Immunizations

Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at 12:00 PM ET

Join NFID during National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) for an interactive discussion on strategies to increase immunization rates.

Routine immunizations have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Published data from Avalere Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and VaxCare all illustrate a sustained drop in non-COVID-19 vaccines among all age groups. The NFID Keep Up The Rates campaign presents an opportunity to mobilize the healthcare community around the importance of students receiving recommended routine vaccinations.

What is the POP Initiative?

To help promote COVID-19 vaccination and referral, the Department of Health, in conjunction with Governor Jay Inslee and Secretary of Health Umair A. Shah, has developed the Power of Providers (POP) initiative. The goal of the POP initiative is to recognize the power all health care providers have in encouraging COVID-19 vaccination in the community. 

For more information, visit the POP website.  

For questions about the immunization schedule, the Immunization Information System forecast, or any other immunization clinical questions, please send an email to ImmuneNurses@doh.wa.gov. Check out the Immunization Training web page for more resources and training opportunities.

Reminder: Vaccine Transfer Process Changed

Remember, effective August 1st, we changed the process for transferring childhood vaccines between enrolled providers. Although, we discourage routine transferring, we realize on occasion transfers help avoid wasted vaccine. Please use the resources available to assist you in the new electronic transfer process in the IIS.

Transfer Checklist

Vaccine Online Transfer Guide

Vaccine Transfer FAQs