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 September 15, 2022, Wisconsin has administered more than 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including more than 2.6 million additional or booster doses.
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64.7% of all Wisconsin residents have received at least one dose.
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61.6% of all Wisconsin residents have completed the vaccine series.
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35.4% of all Wisconsin residents have received an additional/booster dose.
Thank you, Wisconsin vaccinators, for your continued hard work and dedication.
Moderna and Pfizer Vaccine Comparisons
The Department of Health Services (DHS) acknowledges that many of the COVID-19 vaccines now have similar packaging but different authorized uses. We recommend using the visual guides below to draw awareness to their similarities and differences.
Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine
  https://webfiles.pfizer.com/formulation-guide
Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine
 https://eua.modernatx.com/covid19vaccine-eua/providers/MOUS0299_Moderna_EUA_Presentations_QC_v17lg.pdf
CDC COCA Call: Recommendations for Bivalent COVID-19 Booster Doses in People Ages 12 Years and Older
The recording for Tuesday’s COCA call is now available for viewing on the COCA Call webpage.
During this COCA Call, presenters discuss the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) new guidance on bivalent COVID-19 booster doses for people ages 12 years and older, including those who are moderately or severely immunocompromised. COVID-19 vaccination provides protection against serious illness and outcomes associated with COVID-19, including emergency department or urgent care visits, hospitalizations, and death. Updated COVID-19 vaccines add an Omicron BA.4/5 spike protein component to the previous monovalent composition. These bivalent booster doses help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination by targeting more transmissible and immune-evading variants. These boosters also broaden the spectrum of variants that the immune system is ready to respond to.
The slide set from this call is available on the COCA Call webpage under Call Materials.
Free Continuing Education (CE) is offered for this Web on Demand COCA Call.
Moderna Bivalent Booster Availability
Delays in production and shipping are causing delayed availability of Moderna COVID-19 bivalent booster doses. Orders are expected to arrive by the end of September or early October. If you have an order pending and would like to change your order from Moderna bivalent boosters to Pfizer bivalent boosters, please email DHSCOVIDVACCINATOR@dhs.wisconsin.gov. Otherwise, pending orders will be fulfilled when Moderna bivalent boosters are available again. While we wait for additional doses to be allocated to us, we kindly ask that you do not put in another order.
Monovalent mRNA Vaccine Wastage
The Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR) team has seen several instances of wastage of monovalent mRNA vaccines noting a reason of "no longer authorized by the FDA." These vaccines should not be wasted because they continue to be authorized for primary series doses. It is important that individuals who choose to start the COVID-19 vaccination series have access to the original vaccines.
If monovalent mRNA vaccines were incorrectly entered as wastage, and the vaccines have been maintained at appropriate temperatures, inventory in WIR should be corrected by adding back into inventory the number of wasted doses. To do this,
- Find the vaccine and correct lot number of the vaccine wasted.
- Click on the blue vaccine name link to edit the vaccine inventory. Note that if an entire lot was wasted, the inventory on hand will show zero.
- Within the inventory information page, change “Lot Active” to “Yes” and add back the wasted doses at the bottom under “Modify Quantity on Hand.”
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Select the reason “Error Correction.”
If you have questions or need assistance, please email the WIR helpdesk at dhswirhelp@wi.gov.
Reminder: Free COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics
DHS and AMI, the state’s vaccination partner, are still hosting free COVID-19 vaccination clinics. To request a clinic, simply complete the State COVID-19 Resource Matching Survey at least 10 business days prior to the requested event date. Requests can be accommodated up to four weeks in advance but must be submitted no later than 8:00 a.m. on Monday of the week prior to the desired clinic date. On the day of the clinic, AMI will provide all the necessary materials and services. All you will need to do is provide the space. Please note that several updates have been made to the State COVID-19 Resource Matching Survey regarding:
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Vaccination Community Outreach (VCO) or Moving Forward Together Grant Program (MFTGP) Grantee status
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Additional fields to explain how your clinic request will serve marginalized populations and advance health equity to marginalized communities
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Clinic venue contact information
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Date(s) requested
Although additional fields have been added, if you have already submitted an AMI clinic request, you do not need to resubmit. AMI will collect the additional information during the coordination of your event. Please note that although AMI offers Novavax at Community-based Vaccination Clinics, Novavax is not available for mobile COVID-19 vaccine clinics. To find Novavax providers near you, please visit vaccines.gov or the 2-1-1 COVID-19 Vaccination Special Event directory.
COVID-19 and Flu Vaccine Co-Administration
Studies conducted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic indicate that it is safe to receive both a COVID-19 vaccine and a seasonal influenza vaccine at the same visit. Co-administration of these vaccines is recommended by both the CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
V-Safe Reminder
Please continue to promote the use of v-safe as an important part of COVID-19 vaccine safety surveillance. For those who previously registered for v-safe, re-registration is not needed; however, the individual will need to log into their account and record the new dose. Once recorded, v-safe provides personalized and confidential health check-ins via text messages and web surveys.
New and Updated Resources
Updated Communication and Education Resources from CDC
Updated Communication and Education Resources from DHS
Pfizer and Moderna Bivalent Boosters Resources
In Case You Missed It
COVID-19 Vaccine Program Webinars
Wisconsin COVID-19 Vaccine Program webinars are held on the second Tuesday of every month from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. The next webinar will be held Tuesday, October 11.
Register for the meeting series here. Once you register, you can use the same Zoom link for every webinar. Watch recordings of past webinars here.
DHS Supports FDA Authorization, CDC Recommendation for Updated Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters for Individuals 12 Years of Age and Older
DHS supports the CDC’s recommendation individuals 12 years of age and older are now eligible to receive the updated Pfizer bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster and that adults 18 years of age and older are now eligible to receive the updated Moderna bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster. Read the full bulletin here.
Novavax Webinars
Novavax is holding webinars on Wednesdays at 12:00 p.m. (noon) through the beginning of October. Register for one or more of the sessions using this link: https://novav.ax/officehours.
Moderna Webinars
Moderna is holding webinars detailing the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent authorization for use. Content will include:
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Safety and efficacy data supporting EUA
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ACIP recommendations
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Storage and handling
They are hosting two types of events, which cover the same topics, with several day and time options to accommodate schedules. You are welcome to attend multiple events but please register for each date separately.
Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Medical Updates and Immunization Site Training Sessions
Pfizer Vaccines US Medical Affairs continues to lead Medical Updates and Immunization Site Training Sessions for all healthcare providers on the proper use of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
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New training on the potential authorization of the Pfizer COVID-19 bivalent vaccine as a booster dose in individuals 12 years of age and older
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Vaccine presentation (Maroon Cap) for individuals 6 months through 4 years of age
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FDA approvals, authorizations - including recent authorizations
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Extended expiry for Purple, Orange, and Gray Cap
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Now available: Gray Cap, Comirnaty®
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Use of each vaccine presentation, including storage, handling, preparation, and administration
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Question and answer session
To access dates and links for upcoming training sessions, please visit:
DHS Hosting Shared Learning Forums on Advancing Health Equity
The DHS COVID-19 Response and Recovery Team is hosting Friday forums on advancing health equity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sessions are held every other Friday from noon to 1 p.m. and are open to anyone across Wisconsin. Each session features a community leader sharing experiences, barriers, practices, and lessons learned for advancing health equity.
Our forums 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.
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Friday, September 30, noon to 1 p.m.: Black Communities
For registration, please go to:
Once you have registered with this link, you will be registered for all future Health Equity forum sessions through the end of the year. This is a new link, if you have previously registered, you will need to register again. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. To view recordings of previous forums, please go to:
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