|
Ordering of RSV products will not be opened until the excess in the field is transferred to providers who can use it. We currently have 1,800 doses of the 50mg product expiring 10/31/25 and 3,200 doses of the 100mg product expiring 11/30/2025. If you are in need of RSV vaccine, please check the Vaccine Advertisements in the IIS or email WAChildhoodVaccines@doh.wa.gov and we will help you locate product in your region. If have product in your inventory that expires later in the season, please consider accepting a transfer of the short dated product to help ensure it gets used.
As a reminder, do not attempt to return or discard RSV products currently in your inventory that have not yet expired. These doses are still viable and can be used until their expiration date.
CDC will open ordering of COVID vaccine following the CDC Interim Director's acceptance of the ACIP recommendations. In anticipation of CDC ordering opening, we opened ordering September 17th, 2025. This will allow us to be ready to approve orders as soon as we receive notice from CDC and obtain our state's allocation. At this time, we do not have an estimate of when that notice will be made. Please keep in mind that supply will be limited at the start of the season and reductions to orders may occur.
COVID Ordering Reminders
- Providers need to pick one brand only for COVID-19 vaccine
- Initially, COVID vaccine orders will be processed weekly on Thursdays. Orders need to be in "pending state approval" status in the IIS by close of business Wednesday
- Please allow for at least 3 days for order approval from time of submission for accountability checks
- Orders will be approved based on half the doses used for the same month last year
- For new providers, or if no previous administration data is available, the order will be capped at 50 doses
- If there is not enough vaccine in allocation, orders will be reduced based on the Vaccine Allocation Plan
- Orders for respiratory products do not need to be placed on your assigned ordering schedule. Orders can be placed at any time and as often as needed.
Please review the following shelf life information for this season's COVID-19 vaccines and take into account when placing orders. As always, we recommend placing smaller, more frequent orders to minimize vaccine wastage. Quantities should be limited to the amount of vaccine that can be utilized within a 4-6 week period for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, or within a 2 week period for Sanofi/Novavax vaccines.
- Moderna
- Initially, providers should anticipate dating between 3-6 months. As the season progresses, dating may be shorter.
- Pfizer
- Vaccines for person 12y+ will arrive refrigerated with at least 12 weeks of remaining shelf life
- Vaccines for children 5-11y will arrive ultracold with at least 3 months of remaining shelf life when stored at ultracold storage temperatures
- As the season progresses, dating may be shorter
- Sanofi/Novavax
- Provider should anticipate product expiry to be 12/31/2025
- Sanofi is working with FDA on shelf-life extension this season
There are currently two types of qualified coolers being used to ship vaccines:
- EcoFlex coolers: used for all frozen and large refrigerated shipments and must be returned
- KoolTemp coolers: used for most small refrigerated shipments and are not returned
Each cooler contains a flyer about whether to return the cooler and how to do so. You will noticed a new flyer in your shipments that will better distinguish differences between coolers that need to be returned. Coolers that are not returned result in a cost to the program so your assistance in ensuring EcoFlex coolers are returned is crucial.
Did you know that you have to manually remove your clinic's vaccine advertisement(s) in the IIS? It's true! Keeping your postings up to date is critical. Please make sure to check your listings and update as needed.
If you have transferred your advertised doses or they have expired, make sure to update your listings.
- Click on Orders/Transfers heading in the left menus of the IIS. Then click Vaccine Advertisement to open the Vaccine Advertisement screen.
- Click on the radio button next to Advertise Vaccine for Transfer.
- Scroll down to the vaccine that was advertised and click either the Update or Delete button on the right side of the listing.
- If you need to adjust the amount of vaccine advertised click Update.
- If you need to delete the advertisement due to transfer or vaccine expiration, click Delete.
- Make sure to reconcile your inventory. Follow the instructions for How to Search, Add, Reconcile and Report Inventory.
For more on Vaccine Advertisements, please review this Quick Reference Guide for Advertising Vaccines for Transfer.
The WVA has observed an increase in payer denials due to incorrect NDCs being included in provider DBA submissions. Please review the current Vaccine Assessment Grid to ensure practice billing systems are using the most up-to-date NDCs based upon date of service. If updates are needed, please make the necessary adjustments and rebill the affected DBAs to facilitate payment. If you have any questions, please reach out to compliance@wavaccine.org.
- FDA approved the nasal spray live attenuated influenza vaccine FluMist (LAIV3) for self-administration (for 18 through 49 years) or administration by a caregiver who is ≥18 years (for children and adolescents aged 2 through 17 years).
- Consumers use FluMist Home program to provide information to determine their eligibility to order the vaccine. For persons who meet eligibility criteria to receive FluMist, vaccine will be shipped under temperature-controlled conditions to the address provided by the person placing the order.
- ACIP recommendations, contraindications, and precautions for use of FluMist for self-administration or caregiver administration are the same as those for health care provider administration.
- WA Pharmacy Commission granted approval to allow FluMist to be ordered. Currently, the office is working with the vaccine distributor, ASPN, to establish a connection with the Washington State Immunization Information System to allow data transmission between the two parties.
- Self-administered FluMist will not be available to order through the Childhood Vaccine Program.
 |
The newly restructured Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met on September 18-19 and voted on the following:
- Combination MMRV vaccine is not recommended for children under 4 years of age. Separate MMR and varicella vaccines are recommended to be administered for children under 4 years. The Committee also voted to align the MMR and varicella recommendation with the VFC (Vaccines for Children) program. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is currently reviewing this recommendation to decide a course of action.
- After much deliberation on Sept 18, the Committee decided to postpone a vote to update the current hepatitis B birth dose recommendation.
- COVID-19 vaccines are recommended for everyone 6 months and older based on shared clinical decision-making. However, for people 6 months to 64 years, there’s “an emphasis that the risk-benefit of vaccination is most favorable for individuals who are at an increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease and lowest for individuals who are not at an increased risk, according to the CDC list of COVID-19 risk factors.” DOH and the West Coast Health Alliance recommends everyone over 6 months of age who does not have a contraindication to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
ACIP votes are not final until the CDC Director adopts the recommendations. For more details, see the agenda, slides, and listen to the Sept 18 and Sept 19 meeting recordings. The Department of Health will provide more information about these votes and recommendations when they are available.
The Department of Health Office of Immunization recently developed the Vaccine Confidence Resource Library that includes a compilation of resources that are easily accessible and downloadable during an office visit with a patient or family. The library has the following categories of resources:
The library also includes a link to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Vaccine Education Center that discusses autism, vaccines, and acetaminophen use. Please send an email to immunenurses@doh.wa.gov if you have any feedback or would like to add more resources.
The Department of Health hosted the Respiratory Season Updates webinar on September 11, 2025. Presentation slides, a recording, and more information is now available on our immunization training web page. Continuing education credits are available for naturopathic physicians, nurses, medical assistants, and pharmacists/pharmacy techs for watching the recording. Please send an email to immstraining@doh.wa.gov for assistance or any questions.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated the Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule and made a parent-friendly version available. COVID-19 and RSV information have also been updated. Please see links below.
AAP Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule
Updated Covid-19 web pages
Updated RSV Immunization FAQ page
MotherToBaby has a wealth of information for providers and your patients. Some resources include:
-
Fact sheet library includes evidence-based information on COVID-19, flu, RSV, and Tdap vaccines in pregnancy and lactation.
-
Vaccines in Pregnancy Infographic provides patient-friendly information about the risks of respiratory viruses like flu and COVID-19, the benefits of vaccination, and specific timing for when to get the COVID-19, flu, RSV, and Tdap vaccines during pregnancy.
-
The measles protection decision tree can help patients determine if they are protected against measles and suggests next steps for getting vaccinated if needed.
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Vaccine Education Center (VEC) released two new posters with the vaccine-positive message: “Vaccines Make Memories.” Available in English and Spanish, the posters focus on protecting the moments that matter most through vaccination. The posters are available for purchase in individual quantities or in sets of 10.
 A new web page, Locating the Latest Science-Based Vaccine Recommendations, is also available from CHOP to assist in staying up with the latest science-based recommendations. This one-stop web page will be updated as recommendations change or as new statements from professional societies become available.
The new VEC Vaccine Notes series relays vaccine information in both video and podcast formats for people on the go. Each episode is based on one of VEC's Vaccines and Diseases web pages. Each describes the diseases vaccines prevent, the vaccines available, answers to common questions, and vaccination risks and benefits. “VEC Video Notes” is available on YouTube and can be listened to via podcast at: Podbean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and PodChaser.
Do you know how to see how many doses you used last year to help guide your vaccine ordering? Use the Vaccination Totals Report! The WA IIS Vaccination Totals Report shows the total number of vaccinations given based on the parameters set. This information can be plugged into the Downloadable ROQ Calculator to determine ordering quantities for the current month.
|
