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COVID-19 vaccine has begun arriving in Washington, and some folks across the state are starting to receive the updated COVID-19 vaccine. However, limited vaccine availability from manufacturers and supply chain constraints are significant during this vaccine rollout. As a result, ordering for COVID-19 vaccine products in the WA IIS may only be intermittently available over the next few weeks.
Therefore, submitted vaccine order requests are subject to reduction or denial until adequate supply is available. Please note this includes orders showing as Pending State Approval, Pending Local Approval, In State Manual Review, and In Manual Review in the IIS. We encourage providers to place smaller orders rather than placing large bulk orders.
We appreciate your patience and partnership as we work together to equitably distribute COVID-19 vaccine throughout Washington State. We are committed to continuing to share updates about supply in the coming weeks to support you and your communities. Please reach out to us at COVID.Vaccine@doh.wa.gov with any questions you have.
With COVID-19 vaccine integrating into Washington's routine Childhood Vaccine Program. This means that all CVP enrolled providers must make this vaccine available to their patients when supply is available as it is now a routine vaccine. You may notice some additional differences below:
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Supply is very limited initially, only order what you can use and consider your storage capacity. Order quantities can be small with a minimum order size of ten.
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Orders can be placed anytime throughout the month, similar to flu vaccine orders for children.
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All CVP accountability requirements apply to COVID-19 vaccines so ensure your temperature logs and inventory reports are up to date prior to placing your COVID-19 vaccine order.
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Depots of COVID-19 vaccine are no longer allowed. Every provider should place their own COVID-19 vaccine order for shipment directly to their clinic for only the number of doses your clinic can use.
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Keep waste to a minimum, order appropriately, and any expired or spoiled COVID-19 vaccines (not including COVID-19 opened Multidose Vials) must be returned following the online return process. Do not discard vaccine.
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Ancillary kits will no longer be provided. Please ensure you have adequate supply of syringes, needles, and other ancillary supplies to administer COVID-19 vaccines.
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COVID-19 vaccines will no longer ship within 48 hours but will now align with routine vaccine shipping timeframes.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices made recommendations in June to use PCV20 or PCV15 in children, as well as adults. We are still waiting for the recommendations to be published in MMWR, but the CDC Director has adopted these recommendations, so clinics can start using PCV15 or PCV20 for children. Below are detailed recommendations, which can be found here: ACIP Vaccine Recommendations and Schedules | CDC.
For all children 2-23 months
Healthy children 24–59 months and 24-71 months with certain health conditions with incomplete PCV vaccination
Children 2-18 years with any risk condition who have received all recommended doses of PCV before age 6 years
- Received ≥1 dose(s) of PCV20: No additional doses of any pneumococcal vaccine are needed.
- Received PCV13 or PCV15 (no PCV20): Give PCV20 or PPSV23 according to the currently recommended schedule.
Children 6–18 years with any risk condition who have not received any dose of PCV13, PCV15, or PCV20
- Give single dose of PCV15 or PCV20. When PCV15 is used, it should be followed by a dose of PPSV23 at least 8 weeks later if not previously given.
The immunization workforce has continuously contributed to the well-being of communities by providing safe and effective vaccinations and guidance to all. To support programmatic and clinical immunization staff, the Public Health Foundation (PHF), in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, launched a three-part instructional video series, Vaccine Expiration Date and Beyond Use Date or Time (BUD). This series includes:
- What is a Vaccine Expiration Date?
- What is a Vaccine BUD?
- The Difference Between a Vaccine Expiration Date and BUD.
Upon watching the videos, viewers will be able to:
- Define a vaccine expiration date and BUD
- Explain the difference between a vaccine expiration date and a BUD
- Identify best practices for determining vaccine expiration dates and BUDs
- Identify vaccine storage and preparation references and resources
Watch the videos to learn more:
Visit PHF's Immunization Center for tools, training, and educational material for health professionals, or for questions, contact Immunization@phf.org.
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