POP Member Shares Wisdom Gained from Caring for Immunocompromised Patients, COVID-19 Vaccine Updates

Washington State Department of Health sent this bulletin at 04/18/2023 11:33 AM PDT

Hello POP Providers,

Power of Providers (POP) Member Spotlight

POP staff recently spoke with Emily Bandy, a nurse who cares for patients with cancer in western Washington. Emily provides valuable insights for ensuring protection for those who have a high risk for severe disease by prioritizing advocacy for vaccination against COVID-19 and staying vigilant with vaccine conversations.

“In my role as an RN working in hematology-oncology, it's quite challenging because many of our patients are immunocompromised and aren't eligible for the vaccine.

A lot of our advocacy focuses on conversations with friends and family of the person who is immunocompromised. I try to get them on board with getting vaccinated because that can protect the person who cannot get the vaccine. Much of my work is education with the whole support system, like their family unit or whoever they have in their lives, making sure they're using infection prevention practices.

I had a patient recently who had received a stem cell transplant and couldn't get vaccines for five years. All throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, he couldn’t get vaccinated. Seeing his excitement about finally being able to get the vaccine after five years of having to completely isolate from everybody was special.

It's important to make vaccination a priority for people who work with healthier populations and in non-acute settings, and to keep people aware that there are people out there who can't get the vaccine. If not the patient that they're seeing, then maybe a family member or someone else in their lives. Keep vigilant about continuing the conversation about vaccines and don’t let it fall off your radar. Take the time, because we all have a limited amount of time with patients and it's important to prioritize that time, understanding that vaccination still needs to be a priority. I think it still needs to be discussed. It’s still a big concern for many people. “

We extend our sincere gratitude to Emily for caring for our most vulnerable and taking time to share her wisdom with us.

Resources for immunocompromised patients

Resources for patient and family vaccine conversations

COVID-19 Vaccine Updates

Today the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended the emergency use authorization of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, ending the use of monovalent vaccines to simplify the vaccination schedule for most individuals. Instead, the current bivalent vaccine is to be used for all doses administered to individuals 6 months of age and older, including for additional doses for certain populations. Please read the press release for more information.

Upcoming Webinars

Masking

On April 20 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. PT, DOH will host the second webinar in the Updates to the Interim Recommendations for SARS-CoV2 Infection Prevention and Control in Healthcare Settings Series to continue discussion about the updates to guidance for masking in health care settings and provide opportunities for questions.

Here are some resources provided in the first webinar of the series, on April 6:

Immunizations

DOH will host Strategies to Increase Immunization Rates on April 19, from noon to 1:00 p.m. PT.

Presenters will discuss proven strategies to increase immunization rates, ways medical assistants can effectively promote immunizations and increase immunization rates in a clinic and using tools in the Washington State Immunization Information System to raise immunization rates.

Female healthcare provider giving vaccination to a girl in a doctor's office.

POP Peer-to-Peer Learning Webinars

Behavioral Health Support for Health Care Workers Series

Dr. Kira Mauseth, Clinical Psychologist & Senior Instructor of Psychology, Seattle University

April 28, noon to 1:00 p.m. PDT: Burnout Reduction for Health Care Providers
May 26, noon to 1:00 p.m. PDT: De-escalation and Effective Communication Strategies

Long COVID: Q&A for Health Care Providers

May 12, noon to 1:00 p.m. PT

Featuring an expert panel with doctors from UW’s Post-COVID Rehabilitation and Recovery Center. This series is an equity-driven project to help address disparities in Post-COVID treatment access across Washington state by sharing the knowledge of specialists with general practitioners.

Long COVID: Q&A for Healthcare Providers Graphic

Recordings of previous webinars are available on the POP Member page.

We appreciate all you do for the people of Washington every day and hope you all have a wonderful week! Please reach out to us if we can support you in some way.

Power of Providers Team 

Prevention and Community Health Division 

Washington State Department of Health 

powerofproviders@doh.wa.gov 

360-236-2662 | www.doh.wa.gov/pop