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Welcome to the COVID-19 Vaccine Partner Newsletter! Here you'll find the latest news and information on COVID-19 vaccine related topics.
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Q: DO CHILDREN REALLY NEED THE UPDATED COVID-19 BOOSTER?
A: This week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended the emergency use authorizations (EUAs) of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent to authorize their use as a single booster dose in younger age groups: Pfizer-BioNTech for children ages 5 through 11 years, and Moderna for children and adolescents ages 6 through 17 years.
So, is it recommended that children as young as 5 receive the updated booster? The short answer: yes.
Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a news release Wednesday, "Since children have gone back to school in person and people are resuming pre-pandemic behaviors and activities, there is the potential for increased risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19..."- think upcoming holiday gatherings, school activities, and winter months. "Vaccination remains the most effective measure to prevent the severe consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death...". Dr. Marks goes on to explain that "While it has largely been the case that COVID-19 tends to be less severe in children than adults, as the various waves of COVID-19 have occurred, more children have gotten sick with the disease and have been hospitalized. Children may also experience long-term effects, even following initially mild disease...".
Recently in Washington state, Governor Jay Inslee announced the upcoming rescission of all remaining COVID-19 emergency proclamations and state of emergency by Oct. 31. Though the state’s emergency orders are ending, public health leaders continue to emphasize the importance of vaccines and masks in keeping communities safe. Vaccines and therapeutic treatments are available in order to prevent hospitalizations and death. Dr. Marks' parting words, "We encourage parents to consider primary vaccination for children and follow-up with an updated booster dose when eligible."
As for the under 5 population, Dr. Ugur Sahin, co-founder of BioNTech, said in a statement, “...we have started a clinical trial to evaluate the adapted vaccine based on the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants in children six months through 11 years of age aiming to offer all age groups the opportunity to immunize against Omicron variants and subvariants." Stay tuned!
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UPDATED COVID-19 VACCINES TO INCLUDE CHILDREN AGES 5 THROUGH 11
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Director Rochelle P. Walensky, M.D., M.P.H., signed a decision memo expanding the use of updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines to children ages 5 through 11 years on Wednesday, October 12th. This follows the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authorization of updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech for children ages 5 through 11 years, and from Moderna for children and adolescents ages 6 through 17 years. Children and teens can get the boosters from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech as long as they’re at least two months past their primary vaccine series or last booster dose.
Updated COVID-19 vaccines add Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 spike protein components to the current vaccine composition, helping to restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and targeting recent Omicron variants that are more transmissible and immune-evading.
FDA’s authorization of updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines for this younger age group, and CDC’s recommendation for use, are critical next steps forward in our country’s vaccination program—a program that has helped provide increased protection against severe COVID-19 disease and death. About 13 million to 15 million people in the US have gotten the updated COVID-19 boosters since September 1, according to White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha. An analysis published this month found that if more people in the United States get their booster by the end of the year, about 90,000 COVID-19 deaths could be prevented this fall and winter.
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UPDATED RESOURCES FOR THE 5-11 BIVALENT BOOSTER AUTHORIZATIONS
Looking for up to date information on the bivalent booster’s expansion for ages 5-11? The resources listed below offered by Washington State Department of Health have been updated with this new information!
Updated General Webpages (English and Spanish):
Updated Provider Webpages (English):
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DOH PROVIDER RESOURCES
Washington State Department of Health offers fantastic COVID-19 vaccine resources for various audiences, including providers. Discussion guides, toolkits, general information flyers and more can be found under the Vaccine tab of our Resources and Recommendations | Washington State Department of Health page. Check out these resources today!
Other Existing Resources:
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YOU CAN MAKE IT EASIER FOR PATIENTS TO SCHEDULE A VACCINE
Many people who want a COVID-19 vaccine must schedule their vaccination appointments online. This process has been easier for some than for others. While English-speaking, tech-savvy individuals may be able to navigate the system, we want to help improve the experience for everyone here in Washington. Many people are currently trying to get their updated booster dose and we’ve heard from individuals and media outlets that it’s been hard, especially when having to enter their information before being able to see appointment times.
Here are a few tips for improving online scheduling. Find more tips in the full article.
- Keep your online vaccine scheduling system up to date.
- Allow patients to select an appointment date and time first before entering their information. It has been a frustrating user experience to enter all of their information first before seeing available times.
- Choose the setting that holds the time slot for a short period after the patient selects it. This gives them time to fully register before losing the slot. Ten or 15 minutes is a good estimate.
- Allow patients to book an appointment without creating an account.
- Offer booster vaccination appointments even if the patient did not receive their primary series at your facility.
- Include scheduling instructions and resources for non-English speaking patients.
- Prominently display phone numbers for language assistance, such as the DOH hotline 1-800-525-0127.
- Offer your webpage and materials in other languages. Make the language toggle switch easy to see.
Thank you for helping people in Washington get all of the protection they can against COVID-19.
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NEW POP MEMBER SELF-SERVICE PORTAL HAS OPENED
POP members now have access to the Washington Department of Health Ordering System. The self-service portal allows you and your staff to order FREE promotional materials to encourage vaccination. Members can order educational posters, stickers in multiple languages, informative handouts, tear pads, discussion guides, and more.
Please visit the POP Members web page for instructions on how to order. If you have any questions about the ordering portal, please email us at powerofproviders@doh.wa.gov.
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COVID-19 SITE SURVEY FOR PROVIDERS
We invite providers that have received a COVID-19 site visit from the Department of Health to complete a brief, anonymous survey. The survey will help us to better understand the needs and preferences of providers across Washington State. Your responses will help us to improve our site visit process.
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In addition to the DOH materials offered in Spanish, here are some bilingual and Spanish-language resources you can share with your Spanish-speaking communities to ensure they have access to public health resources all year round (courtesy of Public Health Communications Collaborative):
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BIVALENT PEDARTIC COVID-19 BOOSTER APPROVED FOR USE, BE SURE YOUR RESOURCES ARE UP TO DATE
Immunize.org just updated it’s Checklist of Current Versions of U.S. COVID-19 Vaccination Guidance and Clinic Support Tools. This is an extremely useful tool to have on hand for easy access to all of the most current immunization schedules, EUAs, and more. All COVID-19 vaccination providers are encouraged to review this checklist to be sure practices stay up to date.
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NEW-ONSET TYPE 1 DIABETES AMONG PEDIATRIC PATIENT ASSOCIATED WITH SARS-COV-2 INFECTION
A recent study in JAMA Network Open found that new type-1 diabetes diagnoses were more likely to occur among pediatric patient with prior COVID-19 than among those with other respiratory infections. There have been previous studies indicating a link between newly diagnosed type-1 diabetes and respiratory illness although the association between type-1 diabetes new onset and recent SARS-CoV-2 infection was found to be stronger. This possible increased risk of new-onset T1D after COVID-19 adds an important consideration for risk-benefit discussions for prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pediatric populations. You can find the whole article at the following link: Association of SARS-CoV-2 Infection with New-Onset Type 1 Diabetes among Pediatric Patients from 2020 to 2021.
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ALL REMAINING PFIZER PURPLE CAP IS EXPIRED
If you have any physical Pfizer Purple Cap at your site, it is now expired and needs to be documented as wasted in the WAIIS and disposed of. Below are the instructions for documenting wastage in the WAIIS and how to dispose of those doses:
Disposing of Waste:
You should dispose of COVID-19 vaccine waste in accordance with local regulations and processes for disposal of regulated medical waste.
Reporting Waste:
You should report any vaccine wastage to the Washington State Immunization Information System: How to Report Wastage of the COVID-19 Vaccine in IIS
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PFIZER ORANGE CAP BIVALENT PRE-ORDER DELIVERIES
Pre-Order deliveries will begin on Saturday, October 15 for sites that are open that day. Remaining deliveries will begin arriving Monday, October 17. Ancillary kits may arrive a day before your vaccine order arrives. The primary contact at each site should receive an email with shipping information. Shipping information is also updated in the WAIIS every morning. You can find the tracking information in the order detail screen in the WAIIS.
Pediatric Bivalent Products Available to Order in the WAIIS
Ordering for the Pediatric bivalent boosters has reopened in the Immunization Information System (IIS) as of 10/12. Ordering for these products will remain on in the IIS moving forward, and orders will be approved along with all other COVID-19 orders (Mondays and Thursdays after 12:00 pm). As a reminder the Moderna bivalent booster is being used to vaccinate the pediatric and adult populations—thus Moderna is in high demand. Providers are encouraged to order Pfizer in place of Moderna as patient demand allows.
The COVID-19 Vaccine program does not expect to receive a threshold increase of vaccine for the booster products until 10/20. Please only order vaccine as needed and do not stock up on inventory. If your booster order is denied, please review the Vaccine Advertisement Page for doses available for transfer.
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JOIN CDC & CDPH FOR JOINT COVID-19 NARRATIVE BRIEFINGS
October 18, 2022 1:00 PM PST
To provide greater insights into the root causes of vaccine hesitancy and to mitigate the harmful impacts of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation to public health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and California Department of Public Health (CDPH) have teamed up to host a series of Joint COVID-19 Narrative Briefings. These briefings are intended to provide public health organizations with a baseline understanding of some of the English and Spanish online narratives that may undermine confidence in COVID-19 vaccines, as well as tactics to counter them. During the briefings, you will learn insights into COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, prominent current rumors and inaccurate information about the COVID-19 vaccines with high levels of online engagement, and learn proven strategies, trusted information, and resources about the COVID-19 vaccines.
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PANDEMIC TO ENDEMIC: LONG-TERM RECOVERY FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS
October 21, 2022 12:00PM - 1:00PM MST
The Power of Providers (POP) team at DOH is excited to host this important presentation on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the personal and professional lives of health care workers.
Dr. Kira Mauseth, Ph.D., is a practicing clinical psychologist who will be discussing various topics such as:
- Behavioral health considerations for the current phase of the disaster and response.
- The physical and neuro-chemical processes at work that influence our risk-taking behavior, thinking and decision making in a disaster cascade and at this point in our recovery.
- Risk and harm reduction techniques as we have fun, re-engage, and recover.
- Strategies for working through grief, loss and anger, and managing our complex emotional, cognitive and interpersonal challenges.
- Finding ways to re-connect meaningfully with our work and things that matter at home and in community.
We hope you make time to join the presentation! Mark your calendar and reserve your spot today. Also, keep and eye out for more presentations from Dr. Mauseth
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October 18, 2022 10:00AM-11:00AM PST
Public Health Communications Collaborative presents their October webinar, The Power of Framing: Bridging Political Divides to Strengthen Public Health. This expert panel will respond to scenarios inspired by real world challenges facing the public health field today.
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FOR SCHOOLS AND CHILD CARE FACILITIES
FOR LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES
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SIGN UP FOR THIS NEWSLETTER!
If you aren't already signed up for the COVID-19 Vaccine Partner Newsletter, please visit the Department of Health's email subscribers page here. Once you enter your email, on the next page expand the Immunization topic, select the COVID-19 Vaccine Partner Newsletter, and click submit.
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This newsletter summarizes content from the week of October 9, 2022 and was sent out on October 14, 2022. |
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