Search:

April 25, 2019

Taryn Chapman 2019 Buzz
Announcements
News

ANNOUNCEMENTS

NFID Webinar: Strategies for Overcoming Barriers to Healthcare Personnel (HCP) Immunization

On April 25 at 1 pm ET, NFID Medical Director William Schaffner, MD will moderate the webinar, Strategies for Overcoming Barriers to Healthcare Personnel Immunization, with presentations by Margot Savoy, MD, MPH, Chair and Associate Professor, Family and Community Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, and NFID Vice President Patricia A. Stinchfield, RN, MS, CPNP, CIC, Senior Director, Infection Prevention and Control, Children’s Minnesota.

At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to:

  • Summarize the current U.S. recommendations for HCP immunization and coverage rates
  • Explain issues, challenges, and opportunities that may impact HCP immunization acceptance
  • Discuss best practices and practical strategies to increase HCP immunization rates in various healthcare settings

Panel Discussion: Utility of Observational Real-World Evidence to Inform Vaccine and Public Health Decision-Making

Seqirus is sponsoring a dinner and panel discussion on May 14 in Atlanta. During the program, Utility of Observational Real-World Evidence to Inform Vaccine and Public Health Decision-Making, the panel will discuss the use of real-world evidence to help define how vaccine effectiveness is used to make decisions about influenza vaccines. The panel will discuss how real-world evidence can be used to maintain confidence in the need for influenza vaccines. Panelists include: Mark Blatter, MD, Claire Hannan, MPH, Arnold Monto, MD, and Mitchel Rothholz, RPh, MBA. While this meeting is being held in parallel with the Summit in-person meeting and at a location close to the Summit meeting, it is not associated with the Summit itself.

Webinar on Responding to a Hepatitis A Outbreak

The New Mexico Immunization Coalition, together with Comagine Health and the New Mexico Department of Health, is sponsoring a webinar titled A Strategic Response to Hepatitis A Outbreak” From the Big Picture to the Nitty Gritty. Local presenters will be sharing specific strategies they used to vaccinate high risk populations in an attempt to manage the outbreak quickly. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, May 22, from noon – 1 pm MT. (3 pm ET) Registration is available online.

Medicaid Composite Measures Letter

Thanks to all our Summit partners who have signed onto letter regarding adding the prenatal and adult immunization composite measures onto the Medicaid Adult and Child core sets. The letter provides the rationale for why inclusion of the two measures within the core sets is so important to improving maternal and adult immunization performance. It has already been used by several partners to educate and provide feedback on this important issue as we work to improve the poor adult immunization coverage rates in the United States. This letter is directed not just at CMS, but specifically to the CMS workgroup that is selecting measures for the 2020 Core Adult and Child Medicaid sets. This workgroup will meet in person on May 7.

In the interest of providing partners another opportunity to support this letter prior to its distribution to the CMS workgroup in time for its May 7 meeting, and to accommodate requests from partners who missed the first go-around, we are opening up the sign on period from April 25 through the close of business on Monday, April 29. Please consider signing your organization onto this letter. If your organization is interested, please respond directly to L.J Tan.

NEWS

CDC Media Statement with an Update on the Measles Outbreak

As of 3 pm on April 24, 2019, CDC is reporting 695 cases of measles from 22 states. This is the greatest number of cases reported in the United States since measles was eliminated from this country in 2000.

The high number of cases in 2019 is primarily the result of a few large outbreaks – one in Washington State and two large outbreaks in New York that started in late 2018. The outbreaks in New York City and New York State are among the largest and longest lasting since measles elimination in 2000. The longer these outbreaks continue, the greater the chance measles will again get a sustained foothold in the United States.

Stopping these measles outbreaks is a priority for CDC and we are working 24/7 to protect Americans from this contagious disease. Vaccination is the best way to protect against measles. Today, the overwhelming majority of parents choose to protect their children with vaccines, and we’ve seen high and stable immunization rates in the U.S. for several years.

The recent outbreaks started through importation. Measles is imported when an unvaccinated traveler visits a country where there is widespread measles transmission, gets infected with measles, and returns to the United States and exposes people in a community who are not vaccinated. When measles is imported into a community with a highly vaccinated population, outbreaks either don’t happen or are usually small. However, once measles is in an under-vaccinated community, it becomes difficult to control the spread of the disease.

The World Health Organization reported this month that there has been a 300% increase in the number of measles cases worldwide compared with the first 3 months of 2018.  That increase is part of a global trend seen over the past few years as other countries struggle with declining vaccination rates and may be exacerbating the situation here.

A significant factor contributing to the outbreaks in New York is misinformation in the communities about the safety of the measles/mumps/rubella vaccine. Some organizations are deliberately targeting these communities with inaccurate and misleading information about vaccines. CDC continues to encourage parents to speak to their family’s healthcare provider about the importance of vaccination. CDC also encourages local leaders to provide accurate, scientific-based information to counter misinformation.

CDC will release the next round of new numbers of measles cases on Monday, April 29, as part of efforts during National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) to emphasize the life-saving benefits of childhood immunization.

A statement from Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is available.

European Interdisciplinary Council on Aging (EICA) Releases Statement on Vaccine Misinformation

The statement includes links to the EICA Social Media calendar for World Immunization Week, concludes as follows:

This World Immunization Week, the World Coalition on Adult Vaccination members unite to raise awareness on a life course approach to vaccination, educate communities on the importance of immunization, address vaccine misinformation and advocate for equitable access.

Taking into consideration differences within and between countries, Coalition members have agreed that:

  1. Immunization saves millions of lives every year and is fundamental to a life course approach to healthy ageing;
  2. The decision to vaccinate impacts health at an individual and societal level; and
  3. Governments, public health organizations and health care professionals are critical in providing consistent and truthful information on the importance of immunization.

World Immunization Week is a time for organizations across disciplines and sectors to come together, stand in solidarity and advocate for the common goal of increasing vaccination uptake, coverage, accessibility and availability across the world.  To protect the health, well-being and functional ability of people of all ages against disease, vaccination remains to be an invaluable instrument of health.

WHO Launches New Global Flu Strategy

The WHO recently released a Global Influenza Strategy, 2019 – 2030. The main goal of the strategy is the protection of people in all countries from the threat of seasonal influenza, controlling zoonotic flu transmission, and preparing for the next pandemic. In a press release, the WHO said the new strategy is its most comprehensive and far-reaching to date. Of the two main strategies, the first is to build stronger country capacity for surveillance, response, prevention, control, and preparedness, with the WHO calling for every country to have a tailored influenza program. The second strategy is developing better tools to prevent, detect, control, and treat flu, such as developing more effective vaccines and treatments and making them accessible to all countries.

REMINDER

Summit calls are held weekly on Thursday at 3 pm ET throughout the influenza season unless cancelled. Call information and an agenda generally are sent the morning of the call. Call summaries are available shortly after each call on the Summit website.

Please email L.J Tan or LaDora Woods if you have any updates on activities to provide to the Summit.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Search: