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Organizations Supporting the NVAC Adult Standards

Each organization listed below has formally endorsed National Vaccine Advisory Committee’s revised Standards for Adult Immunization Practice and has agreed to the following:

  • Announce their support via regular communications channels to coincide with the publication of the standards in the March/April 2014 issue of Public Health Reports
  • Identify one or more actions their organization is taking/can take to enhance adoption of these new standards by their members

Supporting Organizations

  • American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) — www.aafp.org
    Action:AAFP plans to promote the NVAC Standards for Adults Immunization Practices to AAFP members via AAFP News Now articles and social media.
  • American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) — www.aap.org
    Action: AAP’s support for the standards will be published in an upcoming issue of AAP News. The Academy will focus not just on older patients being vaccinated, but making sure physicians and their staff have also been appropriately immunized and asking parents of patients to follow up with their primary care physician to get vaccinated if needed.
  • American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) — www.aapa.org
    Action: Communication will be a major focus: In addition to an email blast, crafting an article in PA Professional, AAPA will also use their social media channel to let physician assistants know about the updated standards. Of note, AAPA has encouraged their members to submit comments to the draft document during the comment period and provided them with a direct link to do so.
  • American Pharmacists Association (APhA) — www.pharmacist.com
    Action: The National Vaccine Advisory Committee’s (NVAC) updated “Standards for Adult Immunization Practice” are highlighted in the Special Immunization Section of the March 2014 issue of Pharmacy Today. The new standards highlight the importance of collaboration between immunizing and non-immunizing professionals and support the concept of an “immunization neighborhood..” Pharmacists play a central role in establishing an immunization neighborhood by assessing the vaccination needs of all their patients, administering any necessary vaccines as allowed by state law, and appropriately documenting and following up with other health professionals to ensure continuity of care (see related press release).

     

  • Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) — www.immunizationmanagers.org
    Action: As part of AIM’s support of the Standards, AIM has prepared a sample letter for programs to share information about the Standards and their importance with providers. AIM encourages program managers to use the letter to share the Standards in combination with current coverage rates to motivate providers to enhance their vaccination efforts. Additionally, AIM recommended the following activities to help programs adopt and implement the Standards in their jurisdictions: work with immunization coalitions to spread information about the Adult Standards; share information about the Standards with the media through press releases, op-eds in newspapers or blogs, interviews and social media; partner with non-traditional providers like pharmacies or medical specialists to reach a wider audience of providers; reach out to state chapters of professional medical associations to share information about the Adult Standards with association members; and include recently-released adult immunization coverage data and improvement incentives to adult immunization providers along with the Adult Standards. ‎
  • Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare (AOHP) — www.aohp.org
    Action: In its Standards for Adult Immunization Practice, AOHP strongly supports, through advocacy and education, safe administration of immunizations to adults in the healthcare workplace as recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to help prevent serious illnesses and transmission of diseases, and to minimize absenteeism associated with vaccine-preventable diseases. AOHP encourages its members and their organizations to adopt the Standards for Adult Immunization Practice and implement the following steps to ensure that adult patients are fully immunized:
       1. Assess immunization status of all patients in every clinical encounter.
       2. Share a strong recommendation for vaccines that patients need.
       3. Administer needed vaccines, or refer to a provider who can vaccinate.
       4. Document vaccines received by the patients in state vaccine registries.
    In addition, AOHP advocates for mandates that all healthcare personnel be offered ACIP-recommended immunizations at no charge. AOHP respects the individual healthcare worker’s right to make an informed decision regarding vaccinations and supports healthcare institutions in developing their own policies and practices to immunize their workforce consistent with the ACIP recommendations. AOHP believes that immunization of healthcare personnel is essential to their health and the health of their patients, and the organization is committed to promoting ACIP-recommended immunizations for healthcare workers and the Standards for Adult Immunization Practice in healthcare institutions represented by AOHP members.
    AOHP is recognized as the definitive resource for issues related to staff in the healthcare setting and holds the exclusive mission of addressing the needs and concerns of occupational health professionals in healthcare settings, which includes the development of position statements on a variety of other related issues, such as:

    • Confidentiality of Employee Health Records
    • Influenza Vaccination of Healthcare Workers
    • Injury and Illness Prevention Programs
    • Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare Settings
    • Safe Patient Handling

    AOHP is a national association representing thousands of healthcare personnel whose vision is to be the defining resource and leading advocate for occupational health, safety and well-being in healthcare. AOHP: advocates for employee health and safety; provides occupational health education and networking opportunities; promotes health and safety advancement through best practice and research; and partners with employers, regulatory agencies and related associations.
    For more information, please call AOHP Headquarters at 800-362-4347, or e-mail info@aohp.org. AOHP’s position statements, including its new Standards for Adult Immunization Practice, are located on the AOHP website.

  • Association of State & Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) — www.astho.org
    Action: ASTHO announced the updated Standards in their weekly newsletter, which is sent to more than 1,066 state health officials, state public information officers, deputies, and other state health or affiliate members. ASTHO would be interested in working with other organizations such as NACCHO to provide additional information for their members on methods to enhance adoption of these new Standards by respective members.‎
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — www.cdc.gov
    Action: CDC launched a new web section for healthcare and public health professionals in support of the adult immunization standards. Related educational materials developed by CDC include a tip sheet on how to share a strong vaccine recommendation with adult patients. In early February 2014, CDC engaged national, regional, and local radio stations across the country in a media tour to highlight the findings from from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).
  • Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) — www.immunize.org
    Action: IAC’s support of the standards will be announced in its various communication avenues: weekly e-newsletter IAC Express, listservs (e.g., IZCoalitions and Vacsafety), and social media accounts. The adult standards were the subject of an editorial in the November 2013 issue of IAC”s quarterly publication Vaccinate Adults. Along with featuring the Standards and the supporting organizations on the new NAIIS website, IAC will post the Standards on relevant website sections on immunize.org, including the Adult Vaccination Resources Library.
  • Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) — www.idsociety.org
    Action: IDSA will announce support of the standards through their communications channels as recommended by NAIIS/NVPO. IDSA’s Public Health Committee (PHC) will be charged with identifying actions that IDSA will take to implement the standards with its members. During National Immunization Awareness Month (August 2014), Jeffrey S. Duchin, MD, FIDSA, Chair of the Public Health Committee shared a new document prepared by the Public Health Committee explaining the National Vaccine Advisory Committee’s (NVAC) recent recommendations for adult immunization practice: The NVAC Standards for Adult Immunizations: What Do They Mean for the ID Specialist?
  • National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) — www.nfid.org
    Action: NFID supports the revised Standards for Adult Immunization Practice and plans to include notifications in their quarterly e-newsletter as well as websites and other social media channels. Additionally, NFID will include a link to the standards in the resource materials for the NFID Clinical Vaccinology Course, as a means to enhance adoption of the new standards.
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