This email is being sent to local health officers, tribal health directors, COVID-19 vaccinators, COVID-19 vaccine stakeholders, HERC coordinators, and key DHS staff.
Reflection
As of February 17, 2022, Wisconsin has administered more than 9.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including more than 1.8 million additional or booster doses.
- 63.8% of all Wisconsin residents have received at least one dose.
- 60.1% of all Wisconsin residents have completed the vaccine series.
Thank you, Wisconsin vaccinators, for your continued hard work and dedication.
DHS Supports CDC Recommendation for Updates to the COVID-19 Booster Schedule and Number of Doses Needed for Immunocompromised Individuals
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended updates for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised that address the number of COVID-19 vaccine doses needed and the appropriate COVID-19 vaccination dosing schedule.
DHS supports changing the interval for an mRNA booster dose from 5 months to 3 months for people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised. These individuals should receive a booster dose at least 3 months after the last (third) dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. This only applies to moderately or severely immunocompromised individuals that are 12 years of age and older for Pfizer-BioNTech recipients and 18 years of age and older for Moderna recipients.
DHS also supports Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) recipients who are moderately or severely immunocompromised receive an additional dose of mRNA vaccine only at least 28 days after their first primary Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) dose. A booster dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine or Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) would then follow 2 months after an additional mRNA dose. An mRNA vaccine is preferred for the booster dose.
View the bulletin sent on Wednesday, February 17 here.
Presidents Day Holiday Shipping
As a reminder, vaccine will be delivered on Presidents Day, Monday, February 21, unless your vaccination site specifically requested an order hold with Pfizer customer service or with McKesson customer service (for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson).
Johnson & Johnson Update
CDC is awaiting news on a possible Johnson & Johnson shelf-life extension. If approved, this would allow CDC to program a successful “sunset” of this vaccine. DHS will keep vaccinators updated as more information becomes available in the upcoming months. In the meantime, please continue to leverage the Wisconsin COVID-19 Vaccine Exchange to redistribute Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine.
Input Requested: Webpage about Vaccine for Children Ages 6 Months through 4 Years
In anticipation of FDA authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine for children ages 6 months through 4 years old, DHS website technicians would appreciate your input before developing a webpage with guidance and resources about this vaccine.
Please share your quick feedback on how you would like to see vaccinator guidance about Pfizer's upcoming pediatric vaccine displayed on our webpage by Friday, February 25.
In the future, you are also always welcome to share feedback on DHS webpages by clicking Site Feedback at the bottom of every page.
Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Medical Updates and Immunization Site Training Sessions
Pfizer Vaccines US Medical Affairs, with its partner BioNTech, continues to host daily Medical Updates and Immunization Site Training Sessions for all providers on the storage, handling, and administration for currently available vaccine presentations of its COVID-19 vaccine.
Please note: At this time, the Medical Affairs team is pausing training on the Maroon Cap for individuals 6 months through 4 years of age.
Also please note: Training will now be included on the new Pfizer Controlant Data “SAGA Logger.”
In addition to Medical Updates, session topics will include:
- Use of vaccine for:
- Children 5 through 11 Years of Age
- Individuals 12 Years of Age and Older
- Storage, Handling, Preparation, & Administration for the multiple presentations of the vaccine
- Training on the new Pfizer Controlant Data “SAGA Logger”
- Recent medical updates regarding the vaccine
- An overview of healthcare provider resources
- Question and answer session
Sessions will also now include information regarding the Pfizer gray cap formulation of the vaccine for individuals 12 years of age and older.
To access current and future training sessions, please visit: https://www.pfizermedicalinformation.com/en-us/medical-updates
These sessions will be updated to reflect new information and changes as they evolve. Such updates will be identified at the start of each session and further explained during each presentation.
Click here for a complete schedule of trainings for February and March and to access links and passwords for each course.
New and Updated Resources
Updated Clinical Guidance from CDC
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MMWR Early Release: Effectiveness of Maternal Vaccination with mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine During Pregnancy Against COVID-19–Associated Hospitalization in Infants Aged <6 Months — 17 States, July 2021–January 2022
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MMWR Early Release: Hospitalizations of Children and Adolescents with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 — COVID-NET, 14 States, July 2021–January 2022
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MMWR: Waning 2-Dose and 3-Dose Effectiveness of mRNA Vaccines Against COVID-19–Associated Emergency Department and Urgent Care Encounters and Hospitalizations Among Adults During Periods of Delta and Omicron Variant Predominance — VISION Network, 10 States, August 2021–January 2022
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MMWR: Safety Monitoring of COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Doses Among Adults — United States, September 22, 2021–February 6, 2022
Updated Communication and Education Resources from CDC
In Case You Missed It
Wisconsin COVID-19 Vaccine Program Webinar Schedule
Bi-weekly COVID-19 Vaccine Program updates are held every other Tuesday from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. The next webinar will be held on Tuesday, February 22.
Register for the meeting series here. Watch recordings of past webinars here.
DHS Hosting Shared Learning Forums on Advancing Health Equity
The DHS COVID-19 Response and Recovery Team will be hosting Friday forums on advancing health equity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sessions will be held on Fridays from noon to 1 p.m. and are open to anyone across Wisconsin. They will feature a community leader sharing experiences, barriers, practices and lessons learned for advancing health equity.
Our February forums will spotlight the work being done to advance health equity in marginalized populations. Attend all the sessions or choose the ones that work best for you:
- Friday, February 25, 12 - 1pm: Indigenous Population
For registration, please go to:
https://dhswi.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItf-GurjwoH-n13jfbwQYwv2f_is5DJpE
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
DHS looks forward to engaging with our partners in local and tribal health departments, healthcare, pharmacies, community health centers, and tribal clinics as well as those in community-based organizations and hope you will join us.
Pfizer Purple Cap Transition
Please continue to use the Pfizer Purple Cap formulation before ordering the Gray Cap formulation, when possible. Remember to keep your inventory of Purple and Gray Caps separate to avoid confusion with diluent, as the Purple Cap formulation uses diluent while the Gray Cap formulation does not.
Identification, Disposal and Reporting of Waste
CDC developed the Operational Summary for the identification, disposal and reporting of waste into a web page for vaccinators. This page provides information to help identify, handle, dispose of, and report waste in COVID-19 vaccination programs. This waste management guidance should not be used for non-COVID-19 vaccines, which are covered under other CDC vaccination programs. The webpage can be found at the link below.
Identification, Disposal, and Reporting of COVID-19 Vaccine Wastage
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