July 12, 2017

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Reminder: Final Chance to Complete Summit Feedback Survey

Please complete this short survey to help us prioritize action items for the Summit for the 2017–2018 year. Additionally, you will find a question regarding the 2018 in-person Summit meeting.

Thank you for taking time out to complete this survey. It should take no more than 10 minutes of your time. The survey will be closed by close of business today, July 12.

Summit’s NEW Coding and Billing Resource Is Live

At this one web location, you will find the top questions identified by the Access and Provider Workgroup on coding and/or billing for adult vaccinations, scenarios that detail how to go about coding and billing for adult vaccines, and collected resources on this topic from the Summit’s medical association, public health, and vaccine manufacturing partners.

Summit Releases Factsheet on How to Use Immunization Activities to Obtain Points for the MIPS/MACRA Quality Payment Program

Visit the Summit website to view this MIPS Factsheet, which provides concise information related to how providers can utilize immunization activities to obtain points for the MIPS/MACRA Quality Payment Program.

Don’t Forget! Great Tools Are Available to Assist Satellite, Temporary, and Off-Site Vaccination Clinics

Satellite, temporary, and off-site vaccination clinics play an important role in improving vaccination coverage rates and vaccinating hard-to-reach populations. These helpful tools were developed to help these clinics meet the unique challenges presented when providing services in these settings.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

Unity Consortium Releases Results of New Study on Adolescents and Perceptions on Adolescent Immunization

On July 11, 2017, the Unity Consortium released results from a national survey of parents, teens and healthcare providers that revealed some major areas for improvement in preventive health communications to teens. Nearly all parents say it’s important to address “hot topics” to help their teens stay healthy, such as keeping them safe from STDs (92%), avoiding alcohol/drugs/smoking (95%), and getting enough sleep (94%), but put less emphasis on discussions around vaccination. While a vast majority of parents (92%) and teens (88%) believe it is important for all teens to be vaccinated, in reality teen vaccination rates are far lower than where they should be. For instance, less than 50% of male teens and 65% of female teens have received the first dose of the HPV vaccine. What are the reasons for this gap? The survey showed that both parents’ and teens’ attitudes towards preventive health may keep them from prioritizing important health strategies, like vaccination.

The survey found:

Approximately 1 in 4 parents and teens (23% each) believe that vaccines are for babies and not as important for teens.
More than one-third of teens (34%) don’t know how being vaccinated helps them.
Four in 10 parents (41%) (and more than half of teens) believe teens should only see a doctor when he/she feels sick, reducing opportunities to discuss preventive health measures, such as vaccines.
While most teens (92%) trust their doctor when seeking information about their health, nearly half (47%) agree they do not like talking to doctors or other healthcare providers.

The following campaign materials are available:

Template newsletter – “Ready to issue” article that can be placed in print or digital newsletters or blogs. You are welcome to run as is or edit as needed for your particular organization.
Gender Infographic – Provides perspective on the disparities seen between male and female teens. This infographic can be shared as is on social sites, websites, and newsletters, or could be part of an original piece that you may want to cover regarding the differences between male and female teens when it comes to preventive health.
Template Social Posts – Sample posts for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. It is important that these run now through the end of August to coincide with National Immunization Awareness Month, and specifically, Adolescent Week (August 21-27). All of these posts can be used, and of course we welcome you to run original posts as well. Please link/tag Unity in any of the posts.
Press Release – The press release was distributed to media today. Unity encourages you to share it with your members so that they are aware of what Unity is doing.
Slide Deck – To be used to speak of the survey results at, for example, webinars or lunch and learns.

GSA’s ICAMP Program is Back

Looking to increase adult immunization rates? Participate in a one-half day Immunization Champions, Advocates & Mentors Program (ICAMP) training. ICAMP is a multidisciplinary program designed to equip health care professionals to champion adult immunization practices that improve public health and the quality of care for the people they serve. Trainings will be held in Miami (September 14), San Antonio (September 28), Chicago (October 10), and New York City (November 2). A $175 registration fee includes program materials, live program and action planning, snack, and ongoing dialogue with 2016 and 2017 champions. Attendees are required to participate in a pre-program webinar and respond to 3 surveys over 12 months on adult immunization rate changes. ICAMP is developed by The Gerontological Society of America and supported in part by Pfizer and Merck.

ACOG Webinar on Improving Maternal Immunization Rates

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is presenting a webinar, Best Practices to Improve Maternal Immunization, on Monday, August 7, 2017 at 12:00 PM ET (9:00 AM PT). This free, 1 CME credit webinar will focus on the importance of maternal immunizations. This webinar will provide updates on current recommendations and the future of maternal immunizations, discuss practical tips to incorporate immunizations into your practice, and identify and locate resources for providers and patients regarding immunizations. Continuing Medical Education credit is provided through joint providership with The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Registration information is available online.

Adult Immunization Executive Briefing Featured in Becker’s Hospital Review

We are pleased to announce that the Summit sponsored an Executive Briefing on adult immunizations in Becker’s Hospital Review! As we continue to work on improving the value of adult vaccinations as the transformation of healthcare delivery progresses, articles like this are an important step in generating awareness.

Please share this information widely as you make your case with our nation’s healthcare systems. Several options are available for sharing this information:

Becker’s Hospital Review publication – online version
Article – online version
Article – downloadable PDF

As many of you are aware, the Summit also sponsored a Healthcare Systems meeting that occurred the Monday prior to the in-person Summit meeting. A white paper summarizing the findings from that meeting, as well as best practices and next steps, will be published later this summer.

Every Child By Two (ECBT) Reminds of Availability of the Immunization Education Resources for Daycare Providers/Caregivers of Children in Daycare

Vaccinate Your Family Program for Daycare Providers
Every Child By Two collaborated with Young Minds Inspired (YMI) to develop the Vaccinate Your Family program for daycare providers. The goal of the program is to help daycare providers inform and educate the parents and grandparents of children in their care about the key role they play in protecting children against serious vaccine-preventable diseases by keeping their own vaccinations up-to-date. Daycare providers and other vaccine advocates can use these fun activities, take-home handouts and wall poster to raise awareness of the importance of vaccines for people of all ages, not just children.

In 2016, the Vaccinate Your Family educational program was mailed out to 13,900 daycare centers in selected states, and received very positive feedback from the daycare providers. 98% of daycare providers rated the program’s appeal to parents as good-excellent, and 97% rated the program’s educational effectiveness as good-excellent. The program materials can be downloaded from ECBT’s Vaccinate Your Family website or the YMI Classroom website. The wall poster is available to download separately. ECBT also has a limited number of hard copies of the posters available. If you are interested in receiving one, please contact ECBT.

Information on the Prevention and Public Health Fund

Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Frank Pallone have released a helpful analysis of how the cuts to the Prevention Fund will affect each state. A press release on this topic also is available.

ESWI Holding a Symposium on Diabetes and influenza Vaccination

ESWI, together with the European diabetes community, is holding a symposium on influenza-preventing policies for people with diabetes on October 25, 2017 in Leuven, Belgium.

Evidence in support of flu vaccination recommendations for people with diabetes has long been fragmented, but in its recent paper (submitted to Vaccine Journal), ESWI has reviewed the scientific base for recommending routine vaccination of diabetes patients to find that flu vaccination is undoubtedly justified. But clearly, actions need to be taken to increase vaccination coverage in this priority group. The diabetes community is therefore kindly invited to assemble in Leuven to discuss strategies to better protect diabetes patients against the flu.

6th ESWI Influenza Conference – Late Breaking Abstracts Deadline is August 15, 2017

Every three years the Summit’s partner, the European Scientific Working Group on Influenza (ESWI), organizes one of the largest conferences on influenza. With acknowledgment of the U.S. Summit’s work on policy, the group has also introduced a scientific policy track to their meeting.

Late breaker abstracts for posters and presentations will be accepted until August 15. 2017. If your abstract is ready for submission, simply head to its registration page and submit your abstract. If you’re uncertain on how to submit, click here for instructions.

NFID Flu Awareness Night at the Washington Nationals – September 15, 2017

Mark your calendars and plan to join the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) and the Washington Nationals for a special evening of baseball and flu awareness at the 6th Annual Flu Season Awareness Night on Friday, September 15, 2017 at 7:05 PM against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Special discounted tickets in the Outfield Reserved section (field level) are available, and a portion of all ticket sales will be donated to NFID to help support the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, including influenza.

Planned activities at the game include the following:

NFID public service announcement, “Freddie the Flu Detective” featured on the Jumbotron prior to the start of the game
Scoreboard welcome message
Special guest appearance by the Flu Bugs

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Protein Sciences Sold to Sanofi for $650M

Protein Sciences, a privately held drug maker that specializes in making vaccines, is being acquired by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi for $650 million, the companies said Tuesday. The terms of the deal also call for Sanofi to make additional payments of up to $100 million if Protein Sciences achieves certain milestones. Those payments are in addition to the purchase price. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

CPW and BMA Wales Join Forces to Increase Uptake of Flu Vaccinations

Community Pharmacy Wales and the British Medical Association’s Wales GP committee have joined forces in a bid to increase the uptake of NHS influenza vaccinations. It is hoped the collaboration will enable 75% of eligible patients to be vaccinated during the forthcoming flu season, which would achieve the Welsh government’s target.

A memorandum of understanding, signed by the two organizations, recommends that community pharmacy staff:

Inform local GP practices as soon as possible that they intend to offer flu vaccination
Encourage patients who have appointments for vaccination at GP practices to keep those appointments
Target “at risk” patients under 65 years of age and those who do not routinely get vaccinated
Immunize individuals over 65 years of age only when the pharmacist considers them unlikely to attend a GP practice for vaccination.

New CDC Director is Named

A new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has finally been named. The Trump administration announced the appointment Thursday of Brenda Fitzgerald, Georgia public health commissioner, to the post. As CDC director, Fitzgerald, 70, an obstetrician-gynecologist who has held her current position in Georgia since 2011, will inherit a host of harrowing issues.

Shingles May Raise Your Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke, Says Study

A new study shows that herpes zoster, or shingles, does more than just cause painful rashes—it can also increase your chances for a heart attack or stroke, according to a research letter published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

South Korean researchers found that people with shingles had a 60 percent higher risk of heart attack and a 35 percent higher risk of stroke. They also found that the risk was the highest in the first year after experiencing shingles. With about one out of every three Americans contracting shingles, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this is one development worth noting.

An additional article on this study is available in Woman’s Day.

Hepatitis A Outbreaks Continue

In Michigan, state and local health officials continue to investigate an outbreak of hepatitis A cases in the city of Detroit, and Macomb, Oakland, Wayne, and St. Clair counties that have caused 10 hepatitis A deaths in past year. From August 1, 2016 to June 26, 2017, there have been nearly 190 cases of confirmed hepatitis A including ten deaths reported to public health authorities in these jurisdictions. This represents a ten-fold increase during the same time last year.

And there is no sign San Diego County’s hepatitis A outbreak is slowing down anytime soon. According to a new report by the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, there are now 196 confirmed cases of the viral disease, 142 hospitalizations and four deaths, making this the largest hepatitis A outbreak in California in more than two decades and the third largest in the nation since the hepatitis A vaccine was introduced in the late 1990s.

Men B Vaccine May Protect Against Gonorrhea

A retrospective case-control study of more than 14,000 New Zealanders aged 15-30 has found exposure to the meningococcal group B vaccine was associated with reduced likelihood of contracting gonorrhea, compared with unvaccinated people.

The vaccine had been administered to the cohort as part of a nationwide mass vaccination campaign, according to the study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

After adjusting for ethnicity, deprivation, geographic area and sex, those who received the vaccine had a reduced incidence of gonorrhea by approximately 31% (95% CI 21-39).

Keep Legionnaire’s Disease from Spoiling Your Vacation

After multiple Legionnaire’s disease cases in New York City were reported this month, a global health expert is warning vacationers that summer is prime time for the disease. “If your summer plans include travel, please be mindful that this disease has been linked to contaminated water supplies in hotels and cruise ships,” said Jerry Balentine. He is vice president for medical affairs at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. Not only do rising temperatures provide a better habitat for the bacteria, people’s hot-weather habits may unwittingly expose them to the germs.

Influenza, Herpes Zoster, Hepatitis A, and More Focus of ACIP’s June Meeting

On June 21 and 22, CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met in Atlanta to discuss a variety of immunization topics. A summary of the discussions is available online from the American Pharmacists Association. Complete minutes will be published on CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) website.

Three Slide Decks Available to Support New Standards for Adult Immunization Practice

The Summit’s Access and Collaboration workgroup has developed three separate slide decks with talking notes to support partners and others who wish to present on the Standards to their peers and colleagues. The three audiences targeted by the decks are: healthcare providers; patients/public; and public health. These are now available, along with tips and tools on how to use them, at the Summit website.

Also do not forget that Medscape has produced two modules to support the implementation of the Standards:

Providing a strong recommendation (with video vignettes)
Assessing the patient for adult vaccines.

Every Child By Two (ECBT) Compiles Media Information on Its Website

On a daily basis, ECBT assembles significant news media coverage on immunizations in their “Daily Clips.” Summit partners may find this effort useful.

Summit Website Offers Wonderful Resources on Influenza Vaccination

Remember to visit the Summit website for the latest on influenza immunization resources. You also can find archived copies of The Summit Buzz there.

Reminder

Summit calls are scheduled every Thursday at 3 p.m. Eastern time, unless cancelled. The call for July 6 has been cancelled. Please email L.J Tan or LaDora Woods if you have any updates on activities to provide to the Summit.

Announcements

Other Announcements

Other News Of Interest