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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: WHAT DOES COMMERCIALIZATION MEAN FOR COVID-19 VACCINES?
A: Commercialization is the process of bringing COVID-19 vaccines to the open market for purchase. This will allow qualified medical providers to purchase COVID-19 vaccines from vaccine manufacturers and third-party distributors. This is the same process used with other adult vaccines, such as flu and shingles. Although the COVID-19 Vaccine Program does not currently have a date for when commercialization will occur, we do know that it will affect how we distribute state-supplied COVID-19 vaccines to providers in Washington State.
After commercialization, the program anticipates offering COVID-19 vaccines through the established Childhood Vaccine Program and Adult Vaccine Program to enrolled providers. Providers not currently enrolled in these programs can see if they meet enrollment requirements by visiting the program webpages or contacting the programs directly at WAChildhoodVaccines@doh.wa.gov or WAAdultVaccines@doh.wa.gov.
Please join the Partner Call scheduled for February 7, 2023 at 9:00 am to learn more about the Childhood and Adult Vaccine Programs. Please register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2579735077263165711
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INTRODUCING THE NEW WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH LOGO AND WEBSITE
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is starting the new year with a new logo. The DOH design team and leadership worked hard to create a logo that best embodies DOH's core values of equity, innovation, and engagement.
The new logo contains a stylized W for Washington, an H for health, and even our state’s silhouette, while the four color blocks represent our four public health divisions. The agency’s website has also been updated to match the new logo’s colors and be more visually appealing.
Be on the lookout for this and similar variations of the new logo on DOH resources going forward!
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CDC & FDA IDENTIFY PRELIMINARY COVID-19 VACCINE SAFETY SIGNAL
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently announced they will be investigating a preliminary safety signal for one of the COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccines, possibly linking Pfizer’s COVID-19 bivalent vaccine with an increased risk of stroke in people 65 and older.
This safety signal was detected by only one of many safety systems; other safety systems, databases, and countries are not seeing the same link, nor has it been seen in other brands of COVID-19 vaccine. Federal health officials have thoroughly reviewed the data (from the Datalink system and other safety monitoring systems) and concluded it’s very unlikely that there’s a true clinical risk of stroke associated with Pfizer’s vaccine.
No change in vaccination practice has been recommended. CDC continues to recommend that everyone ages 6 months of age and older stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccination; this includes individuals who are currently eligible to receive an updated (bivalent) vaccine. Staying up-to-date with vaccines is the most effective tool we have for reducing death, hospitalization, and severe disease from COVID-19.
Public Health Communications Collaborative has updated their Answers to Tough Questions resource in order to help you answer questions about this issue. View here.
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COVID-19 VACCINE FORWARD CAPACITY SURVEY
The Washington State Department of Health has committed in the state’s ForWArd Plan to supporting vaccination efforts throughout the state. We are committed to maintaining the system-wide capacity to administer 30,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine per day and the ability to surge to 60,000 doses daily within seven days as needed. A survey will be used to measure the maximum capacity, on a monthly basis, that enrolled COVID-19 Vaccine Providers have to administer COVID-19 vaccines to patients.
Thank you for your participation in the January COVID-19 Provider Capacity survey. Your answers in the last survey showed that we are ready to meet this goal in the ForWArd Plan! Please take a few moments to answer the questions in the next survey to help us measure provider capacity to meet these state goals. The survey will be sent on February 1st and will be closing on February 13th.
Please contact us at COVID.Vaccine@doh.wa.gov if you have any questions about this survey.
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VACCINE UPDATES
As of noon, on 1/30/2023, Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine and Pfizer adult monovalent EUA COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be available to order in the Immunization Information System (IIS). All Novavax vaccine will be expiring in February of 2023, and will not be receiving an extension for the expiration date.
Additionally, there has been an increase in ordering for Pfizer adult monovalent EUA COVID-19 vaccine. Based on current ordering patterns, the remaining inventory of Pfizer adult monovalent EUA- labeled vaccine is expected to be depleted soon. As a result, ordering for this product will be turned off in the IIS, as stated above. If providers need to order Pfizer adult monovalent vaccine, they will need to order the Pfizer BLA-labeled vaccine (Comirnaty), which is interchangeable with EUA-labeled product. Ordering for Comirnaty will remain on in the IIS. This product has received a shelf-life extension and will be good until the end of this summer.
CURRENT VACCINE THRESHOLDS
Monovalent vaccines have transitioned to open ordering without thresholds. Orders are still limited to 10,000 doses per order. Out-of-cycle (OOC) requests are no longer necessary for monovalent products.
Thresholds remain in effect for all bivalent vaccines:
- Weekly threshold top-offs will be applied to multidose vial (MDV) bivalent vaccines for people aged 5 years and older.
- Monthly threshold top-offs will be applied to Pfizer’s single-dose vial (SDV) bivalent vaccine for people aged 12 years and older.
Remember, urgent needs can be fulfilled by OOC requests. In addition, pharmacies may submit OOCs requests for Pfizer SDVs. This is encouraged so long as the need is justified.
Ancillary Supply Kit Equipment and Expiration Dates
The COVID-19 vaccine ancillary kit contents do NOT expire on the same date. Do not discard the entire kit based on the date printed on the label as it does not apply to all the contents of the kit.
- The expiration date for masks and face shields is indicated on the ancillary supply kit label.
- The expiration date for other supplies (needles, syringes, alcohol prep pads, etc.) are printed on the individual packaging. The expiration date printed on the kit’s label does NOT apply to supplies with an expiration date printed on the packaging.
Reminder: Check the expiration date BEFORE using any medical equipment. NEVER USE EXPIRED EQUIPMENT. Always discard expired items according to state and local regulations.
See the most recent Product Guide for additional information on Ancillary Kit contents:
ISD Awardees SharePoint Portal - 321629-V_VTF_ProductInfoGuide_11-10-2022_508READY.pdf
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ORDERING AND SHIPPING UPDATES
Presidents Day Deliveries – February 20th
The schedule for COVID-19 vaccine deliveries on Presidents Day (also called Washington's Birthday, Monday, February 20th) will be business as usual. If you plan to be closed on Presidents’ Day and would like to hold your deliveries, you must notify Pfizer or McKesson no later than Wednesday, February 15th. Please send an email requesting your orders be held to the addresses below:
Monovalent Supply
Monovalent COVID-19 vaccine supply is limited, and expiration dates are approaching. In most cases, vaccines with less than 30 days of shelf-life will not be shipped. No additional shelf-life extensions are anticipated for monovalent vaccines.
Awardees planning to place orders will need to do so well before the end of shipping as ordering will close before the shipping end date. For example, ordering of Novavax vaccine will turn off on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. EST and shipping will end in early February. (Note, the USG is working on solutions for future use of Novavax and will share additional information when available.)
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Monovalent Vaccine
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Date when all USG doses expire
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End of shipping (due to <30 days of shelf life)
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Novavax (12+, monovalent)
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2/28/23
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2/1/23
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Janssen (18+, monovalent)
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5/6/23*
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4/9/23*
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Moderna Under 6 (monovalent)
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3/26/23
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2/19/23
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Moderna (12+, monovalent)
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4/2/23
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3/5/23
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Moderna (6-11, monovalent)
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4/9/23
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3/12/23
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Pfizer Peds (5-11, monovalent)
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5/21/23
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5/21/23
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Pfizer Under 5 (monovalent)
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7/2/23
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6/25/23
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Pfizer (12+, monovalent)
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8/6/23
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7/3/23
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*99% of Janssen in the field is expiring in February, but USG will have 100,000 doses through May.
SHELF LIFE EXTENSION RESOURCES
Moderna and Pfizer have already received shelf life extensions. Novavax and Janssen will NOT receive shelf life extensions. To check product expiration dates, the best practice is to use the manufacturer’s online expiry checking tools:
For more information about each product, please visit the CDC website:
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NEW TOOLS FROM CDC FOR RESPIRATORY DISEASE TRACKING
As flu, RSV, and COVID-19 has strained health care systems this fall and winter, CDC recently released three new tools that allow people to see hospitalization and emergency department data and compare trends across seasons and by respiratory disease type.
- COVID Data Tracker’s Hospital Capacity and Utilization page is a centralized location for hospital-related data that is updated daily. It tracks overall inpatient bed occupancy, COVID-19 inpatient bed occupancy, overall ICU bed occupancy, and COVID-19 ICU bed occupancy, by state and hospital bed type (adult and pediatric).
- The Respiratory Virus Hospitalization Surveillance Network (RESP-NET) interactive dashboard displays data on respiratory virus-associated hospitalizations. It’s updated weekly to help public health professionals visualize trends in virus circulation, estimate disease burden, and respond to outbreaks.
- The National Emergency Department Visits for COVID-19, Influenza, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus dashboard, which is updated weekly, displays data on emergency department patient visits with diagnosed COVID-19, influenza, or RSV. By tracking patients in emergency departments with these respiratory virus infections, public health professionals can detect unusual levels of certain respiratory illnesses, which can serve as an early warning system for troubling increases or outbreaks.
You can also check your COVID-19 Community Level on COVID Data Tracker. To learn which prevention measures are recommended based on your COVID-19 Community Level, visit COVID-19 Community Level and COVID-19 Prevention.
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PEER-TO-PEER LEARNING OPPORTUNITY THROUGH POWER OF PROVIDERS
Respiratory Virus Activity Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
February 3rd from 12:00pm-1:00pm PST
Speaker: Dr. Eric J. Chow, MD, MS, MPH
Description: In this peer-to-peer learning opportunity, we will review the epidemiology of common respiratory viruses in the community before and during the pandemic and review factors associated with changes in their circulation pattern.
Registration link
Active Coping in the Long-Term: Health Care Provider Resilience
February 27th from 12:00pm-1:00pm PST
Speaker: Kira Mauseth, Ph.D.
Description: In this peer-to-peer learning opportunity, we will focus on the identification of core values that can provide a foundation for your personal life and professional work, and walk you through the steps needed to create and activate a personal coping plan that is practical, and based around what you are already doing that works.
Registration link
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COVID-19 OUTBREAK INVESTIGATION TRAINING NOW AVAILABLE
Washington State Depart of Health's (DOH) Office of Communicable Disease Epidemiology Non-healthcare Congregate Settings (NHCS) team has launched a COVID-19 Outbreak Investigation training for use by local and tribal public health partners.
This optional, pre-recorded training module provides instruction, strategies, and tools you can use for COVID-19 outbreak investigations and provides a snapshot of COVID-19 outbreak surveillance and investigation in Washington state.
The training is provided on a DOH SharePoint site, which requires signing into a Microsoft account, log in authentication, and uses the Articulate training platform.
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VACCINE MEDICAL TRAININGS
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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 January 15, 2023 and was sent out on January 27, 2023. |
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