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Welcome to the COVID-19 and other Respiratory Illness Vaccines: A Partner Newsletter! Here you'll find the latest news and information on respiratory illness vaccine related topics.
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Q: DO PEOPLE UNDER 50 NEED COVID-19 VACCINES?
A: Yes. Though the majority of COVID-19 deaths have occurred in the over 50 population, there can be other serious outcomes caused by COVID-19. Many under age 50 feel that the potential side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines are not worth the protection the vaccine offers, and while side effects can occur, the risks of COVID-19 vaccines are far fewer than the risks of COVID-19 infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that Long COVID was more likely to occur in those ages 35-49, compared to those 65 years and older.
A study looking at the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns found that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ We Can Do This COVID-19 public education campaign resulted in 2,576,133 fewer mild COVID-19 cases, 243,979 fewer nonfatal COVID-19 hospitalizations, and 51,675 lives saved from COVID-19.
The CDC recommends the 2023–2024 updated COVID-19 vaccines for everyone 6 months and older to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.
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VRBPAC MEETING NEXT WEEK
On Wednesday, June 5, 2024, the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will meet in an open session to discuss and make recommendations on the selection of the 2024-2025 formula for COVID-19 vaccines. The meeting presentations will be heard, viewed, captioned, and recorded through an online teleconferencing and/or video conferencing platform.
FDA intends to make background material available to the public no later than 2 business days before the meeting. If FDA is unable to post the background material on its website prior to the meeting, the background material will be made publicly available on FDA’s website at the time of the advisory committee meeting. Background material and the link to the online teleconference and/or video conference meeting will be available at the Advisory Committee calendar.
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ENROLLMENT ENDS TODAY: LONG-TERM CARE (LTC) IMMUNIZATION AWARD FOR 2023-2024
Today is the last day to enroll for recognition with the new LTC Respiratory Immunization Award! This award recognizes health care worker respiratory immunization rates for COVID-19 and flu vaccines.
As a reminder, the data reporting period is from May 1, 2023, to April 30, 2024. Provider data must be reported by June 3, 2024.
Complete these steps to participate:
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Fill out the initial registration survey to participate (6 questions/2 minutes)
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Fill out the data reporting survey to report staff vaccination data (13 questions/3 minutes)
Minimum staff vaccination rates to qualify for an award are 55% for flu and 20% for COVID-19.
Please remember to send in your enrollment so you can be recognized for your achievements!
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PERTUSSIS ALERT
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Health Alert Network (HAN) recently sent an advisory about the rise of pertussis (whooping cough) cases in multiple jurisdictions. As of May 4, 2024, there have been a total of 170 confirmed or probable cases of pertussis across 15 counties in Washington. This marks a sixfold increase in reported pertussis cases as compared to this time last year.
For more information, please refer to the Weekly Pertussis Update. The report is updated each Friday.
Office of Immunization vaccine recommendations:
- All children should receive a series of DTaP at ages 2, 4, and 6 months. Boosters should be given at ages 15-18 months and at 4-6 years.
- Adolescents should receive a single dose of Tdap (instead of Td) at the 11-12-year-old visit.
- Adolescents and adults who have not received a dose of Tdap, or whose vaccine status is unknown, should receive a single dose of Tdap.
- Children 7-10 years old who did not complete a series of pertussis-containing vaccine before their seventh birthday should receive a single dose of Tdap. If needed, they should complete their series with Td or Tdap. If a Tdap dose is administered at age 10 or older, the Tdap dose may count as the adolescent Tdap dose.
- All healthcare personnel, regardless of age, should receive a single dose of Tdap if they have not previously received Tdap and regardless of the time since the last dose of Td.
- Pregnant teens and adults should receive Tdap during each pregnancy, preferably between 27 and 36 weeks of gestation.
- Mothers who have never received Tdap and who do not receive it during pregnancy should receive it immediately postpartum (following birth).
Resources:
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NEW CAMPAIGN FROM CDC: "FROM ME, TO YOU"
The CDC has launched a new communication effort to encourage
vaccination during pregnancy entitled "From Me, To You." Getting recommended vaccinations during pregnancy provides important protection for pregnant people and their babies in the first few months of life, yet overall vaccination coverage remains low.
On their campaign page, CDC notes that, "Vaccination coverage is often lowest among Black pregnant people, many of whom report experiencing mistreatment, structural, and interpersonal racism during pregnancy and delivery. Given these lived experiences, it is important to recognize that there are many factors that may impact vaccination coverage among Black pregnant people. During ongoing nationwide Black maternal health and infant mortality crises, vaccination during pregnancy offers an important opportunity to increase protection for Black pregnant people and their babies."
The “From Me, To You” communications effort is informed by feedback from Black pregnant people, intentionally centering on the beauty, excitement, and rich cultural legacy of Black parenthood. It aims to raise awareness, drive urgency, and help protect Black pregnant people and their babies by increasing uptake of recommended vaccines. Learn more.
"From Me, To You" offers a variety of resources for health care providers and public health partners such as social media toolkits, patient reminder messaging, posters and much more.
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PHCC OFFERS NEW GUIDE FOR CREATING ACCESSIBLE SOCIAL MEDIA
Public Health Communications Collaborative has a new resource created in collaboration with the Disability Policy Consortium, The Public Health Communicators Guide to Creating Accessible Social Media, to help you develop accessible writing, visuals, audio, and video that will connect with all audience members.
"To create inclusive and accessible public health communications, you must consider the ways people with disabilities will interact with your content. Accessibility is an essential part of your public health communications. Up to 27% of adults in the United States have some type of disability (CDC), and it’s important to consider how people with disabilities will interact with your public health content. It is not possible for people to understand the important health information you are sharing if they cannot access it." -PHCC
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SCHOOL IMMUNIZATION DATA DASHBOARD UPDATE
The Department of Health (DOH) will publish an updated data dashboard on school immunization reporting next month. The updated landing page and data dashboard will go live on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, followed by a public announcement to health care providers and partners immediately after.
School-level immunization data will be available for download by school building and district. Following the small-numbers guidance, DOH will suppress school-level vaccination data for school cohorts with 10 or fewer kids when sharing data.
Overall, school immunization rates for the 2023-24 school year have remained flat compared to the 2022-23 school year. There are still significant vaccination gaps in different parts of the state. It remains important for families to keep their children up to date on vaccines as they prepare for the next school year.
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AVP ENROLLMENT AND RE-ENROLLMENT STARTING JUNE 3, 2024
It’s that time of the year again! Adult Vaccine Program provider enrollment and re-enrollment will begin in 2 weeks on June 3rd, 2024. There are some changes this year, so please read the following information carefully.
If you are a provider who was enrolled in AVP last year who wishes to re-enroll:
- Do not use the enrollment link on the AVP website.
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Your facility contacts will receive an automated email on June 3rd with a link to your pre-populated, facility specific provider agreement to update and sign. This should save providers a lot of time in completing the re-enrollment process!
- If you need to update your facility contacts, please reach out to us at WAAdultVaccines@doh.wa.gov.
If your facility was NOT enrolled in AVP last year:
- You may use the enrollment link on the AVP website starting on June 3, 2024 to begin enrolling in AVP. Please do not start enrolling prior to June 3rd or you will need to complete the enrollment form again.
You can gather important information now to save you time when enrollment opens. Here are some important items you may want to compile now:
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Vaccine Selection: The enrollment form will prompt you to select up to 5 vaccine types that you would like the option to request this year through AVP. Please consider these options carefully as you will not have the option to change your selections until the next enrollment period in 2025. See more details in the article below.
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Annual Training Requirement: Ensure that both the primary and back up vaccine coordinators have completed the annual online You Call the Shots training within the current calendar year.
- The trainings can be found here.
- Follow these instructions to complete the trainings and access certificates. You will need to upload the training certificate as part of completing the provider agreement.
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Shipping Details: Verify the days of the week and core business hours clinic staff are available to receive vaccine deliveries.
- The facility must be open to receive vaccine deliveries two days a week, Monday through Friday, for a minimum of four consecutive hours per day.
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Cold Storage Unit Details: Verify information on all units storing publicly supplied vaccine.
- Cold Storage Units: unit type, manufacturer, effective date, and purchase/issue date.
- Thermometers: thermometer type, make and model of thermometer (entered in serial number field), date of last calibration, and calibration expiration date.
- A photo for proof of brand/model, capacity and calibration certificate is required for each unit listed.
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Practicing Providers: List all licensed health care practitioners (MD, DO, NP, PA, pharmacist, etc.) at your facility who have prescribing authority.
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Patient Population: Report the number of uninsured and underinsured adult patients (19-65 years of age) served by your facility in the last 12 months. If you did not see any uninsured and/or underinsured adult patients, please indicate the number of patients you anticipate you will serve in the coming 12 months.
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Top 5 vaccine selections: The enrollment form will prompt you to select up to 5 vaccine types that you would like the option to request through AVP this year. Please consider these options carefully as you will not have the option to change your selections until the next enrollment period in June 2025.
Providers who are re-enrolling, please note: Your information from last year’s provider agreement will be saved, so you will only need to update information that has changed or is out of date.
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NIRSEVIMAB REMINDER
Administration of nirsevimab ended March 31st, 2024 and is no longer available to order this season. However, providers may find that they still have doses in their inventory. Remaining nirsevimab is viable until its expiration date. It should continue to be safely stored refrigerated between 36°F to 46°F (2°C to 8°C) and can be used when administration resumes next season. Transfer is not recommended at this time.
More information can be found here: Frequently Asked Questions About RSV Immunization with Monoclonal Antibody for Children 19 Months and Younger | CDC
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HAN ALERT ISSUE FOR MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE CASES LINKED TO TRAVEL TO SAUDI ARABIA
CDC sent out a Health Alert Network (HAN) Advisory to alert providers to12 cases of meningitis linked to travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah since April 2024. Most of the cases were not vaccinated, and 3 had unknown vaccination status. There were some antibiotic resistant strains identified in 3 cases. The alert further provides recommendations on treatment for those presenting with symptoms of meningococcal disease after recent travel to Saudi Arabia.
You can find more information on this topic at the following link:
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SCHOOL AND CHILD CARE IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS
Yesterday the Washington State Department of Health hosted a webinar covering school and child care immunization requirements for the upcoming school year. This webinar is targeted towards health care providers. Presentation slides and more information can be found by visiting the webinar page, and a recording of the webinar will be available.
After watching the webinar or recording, participants should:
- Understand the changes to the immunization requirements for the 2024-2025 school year.
- Describe immunization forms and how to use them.
- Know where to locate resources regarding the school and child care requirements.
If You Are School or Child Care Staff:
An immunization requirements webinar targeted towards school and child care staff was presented on March 28 and can be watched here.
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THE LATEST TRENDS IN ANTI-VACCINE ACTIVISM AND MISINFORMATION
Tuesday, June 11, 2024 from 11:00AM-12:00PM PT
Join Immunize Colorado as they host their free webinar entitled "The Latest Trends in Anti-Vaccine Activism and Misinformation". More details can be found in this flyer.
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VAX CHAT 2024: LESSONS LEARNED IN VACCINE EQUITY
Thursday, June 13, 2024 from 11:00AM-12:00PM PT
Join the National Council for Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) for a feedback discussion on the NCUIH Vaccine Equity project. This final vax chat will include a brief presentation about the CDC Vaccine Equity program and gather urban Indian perspectives on successes in vaccine equity, barriers to increasing vaccinations, and recommendations for continuing the work. More information: Vax Chat 2024: Lessons Learned in Vaccine Equity - NCUIH.
Urban Indian organization staff and leadership are encouraged to register for the webinar.
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PUBLIC HEALTH PODCASTS
Earlier this month, Xtalks Life Science Podcast released a podcast featuring infectious disease experts Kelly Moore, MD, MPH, president and CEO of Immunize.org, and William Schaffner, MD, professor of preventive medicine, health policy, and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University. They discussed influenza vaccination and the new trivalent flu vaccine for the 2024–25 season.
Listen here: Xtalks Life Science Podcast Ep. 158
Join hosts of Infectious Ideas, Marla Dalton, PE, CAE and William Schaffner, MD, as they dive into a candid discussion with Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, of Resolve to Save Lives, exploring his journey from philosophy to medicine and a distinguished career in public health, with a focus on building resilient communities. From limiting trans-fat to banning smoking, he has spent his career working to build a healthier future for all, based on lessons from the past.
Listen here: Pandemics, Prevention, and Progress with Tom Frieden, MD, MPH
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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 COVID-19 and other Respiratory Illness Vaccines: A 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 (our original title), and click submit.
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This newsletter summarizes content beginning the week of May 19, 2024 and was sent out on May 31, 2024. |
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