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May 1, 2017

Rebecca Dessonville 2017 Buzz, Uncategorized

Summit Announcements
Other Announcements
Information from CDC
Other News of Interest
Summit Call Recap – April 6, 2017
SUMMIT CALL RECAP – APRIL 13, 2017
SUMMIT CALL RECAP – APRIL 20, 2017
SUMMIT CALL RECAP – April 27, 2017

SUMMIT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Details Announced for 2017 Summit In-Person Meeting Registration, Awards, and Poster Sessions

We look forward to welcoming all registered participant at the 2017 National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit in-person meeting on May 9-11, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia! The final agenda is now available online. We believe that we have an exciting meeting to discuss the transforming healthcare delivery system and how we might work to ensure that adult and influenza immunizations are part of that value equation.

Please HELP us! Registration is CLOSED for the event, and we are at the capacity of the meeting rooms. But we still have people looking to register and attend. So, if you have registered for the Summit and your plans have changed such that you cannot attend everything you specified, please let Casey Pauly know. This way, we can try and accommodate as many attendees as possible! THANK YOU!

NEW RESOURCES FROM THE SUMMIT!
  • The Summit’s NEW Coding and Billing resource is now 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
  • Don’t Forget! Tools 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

NFID Awards Dinner on May 18, 2017

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) presents annual awards to outstanding individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to public health through scientific achievement, philanthropy, and/or legislation. NFID will present the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Humanitarian Award, Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement, and John P. Utz Leadership Award at a black-tie dinner on Thursday, May 18, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda in Bethesda, MD.

The Vaccine Handbook – “The Purple Book” – Announces Free Apple App

A comprehensive update of The Vaccine Handbook App is now available from the Immunization Action Coalition. The free App, which is available for Apple iPhones and iPads only, contains the new 2017 (6th) edition of The Vaccine Handbook (“The Purple Book”), by Dr. Gary Marshall, professor of pediatrics and chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Louisville. The App is fully searchable, with functionality that includes bookmarking, highlighting, user annotation and links to important vaccination resources.

The Purple Book is a comprehensive source of vaccine information, drawing together vaccine science, guidance, and practice into a user-friendly resource for the private office, public health clinic, academic medical center, classroom, and hospital. The first section provides background on vaccine immunology, development, infrastructure, policy, standards, implementation, special circumstances, and—perhaps most importantly—addressing concerns. The second section contains details about every vaccine currently licensed in the U.S., including the burden and epidemiology of the respective disease, history of the immunization program, vaccine constituents, efficacy, safety, and recommendations.

The free app may be found by searching the iTunes App Store for “The Vaccine Handbook App.” Print copies of the book ($34.95 each; bulk discounts are available from the publisher) can be ordered from the Immunization Action Coalition website.

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.

  • While you are at it, do not forget ECBT’s EXCELLENT State of the ImmUnion report: This comprehensive report highlights the successes of vaccines, the economic and societal savings incurred from vaccines, challenges facing the public health system, and key areas we must focus on to achieve optimal protection for all Americans. The report includes details and visuals on the:
    Immense success of vaccines in preventing illness and saving lives;
  • Economic and societal savings as a result of high vaccination rates;
  • Challenges facing the public health system that threaten our country’s progress in combatting vaccine preventable diseases among all age groups;
  • Key areas of focus for legislators to help ensure optimal protection against these devastating diseases and;
  • Links to educational and vaccine policy resources from partner organizations.

WHO updates numbers on current H7N9 Epidemic

On April 20, 2017, WHO reported an additional 15 human infections with Asian H7N9 viruses. This brings the total number of human infections during the current 5th epidemic to 595 and the cumulative total since 2013 to 1,393. The CDC Asian H7N9 page has been updated accordingly.

ESWI 6th Conference on Influenza

The European Scientific Working group on Influenza (ESWI) is organizing the sixth edition of its ESWI Influenza Conferences in Riga, Latvia, on 10 – 13 September 2017. Over the past years, the ESWI Influenza Conferences have grown into the largest European scientific conferences entirely dedicated to influenza. As with its previous 5th meeting, there will be a parallel science policy track.

INFORMATION FROM CDC

CDC Presenting NetConferences on Vaccinating Adults

CDC is presenting a NetConference series on Vaccinating Adults, addressing key issues related to protecting adults from vaccine-preventable diseases. This is a collaborative effort between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Maryland Partnership for Prevention and state immunization program, and will feature six presentations by experts in promoting, administering, and securing reimbursement for adult immunizations.

“WHAT VACCINES DO YOU NEED?” – CDC UPDATES ADULT AND CHILDHOOD QUIZZES TO ASSIST PATIENT SELF-ASSESSMENT FOR VACCINES

The Adult Quiz has now been revised and is available for use. The adolescent (ages 11 through 18) portion has been removed because the Childhood Quiz now covers adolescent ages. After answering 11 simple questions, the Adult Quiz lists recommended vaccines for those ages 19 and older based on age, health conditions, job, lifestyle, travel, and other factors.

The Childhood Quiz went live the week of April 24, 2017. It asks 7 questions and creates a personalized list of recommended vaccines for a child (ages birth through 18 years) based on his or her health history.

Please share these quizzes widely. The “easy-to-remember” URLs are:
Adult: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adultquiz
Childhood: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/childquiz

CDC releases New and Updated Acute Flaccid Myelitis Resources

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated our guidelines for specimen collection and shipping for suspect acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) cases. A COCA clinical reminder is available to explain the updates. CDC also created a job aid for clinicians on how to report suspected AFM cases to their health department. This job aid also includes information about specimen collection and shipping. You can also find other information on our AFM website, such as:
• CDC’s ongoing investigation into recent AFM cases;
• Symptoms and possible causes of AFM;
• AFM case definitions, specimen collection and submission, data collection, and clinical management guidelines; and
• References and resources for AFM.

CDC/Influenza Division Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report (FluView)

The Week 16 FluView and the seasonal influenza key points for April 28, 2017 are now available.

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

For Pregnant Women, Getting Serious About Whooping Cough

Whooping cough is a disease that I take somewhat personally, because I managed to contract it as an adult — in the line of pediatric duty, of course — and I am here to tell you that it was extremely unpleasant. No, I didn’t cough so hard that I broke any ribs (a well¬-known complication), but I certainly understood, as never before, what it might mean to experience coughing spasms so convulsive and severe that a broken rib seemed perfectly possible.

Check here to view the full story in the New York Times and the primary article in Pediatrics.

Compulsory Flu Shots for Health Workers: How Far Should Policies Go?

Get an annual flu shot or get fired. That policy has become fairly standard in recent years at hospitals and medical facilities across the country. The need to protect patients from influenza overrides employees’ personal preferences, health officials say.

But what about someone who isn’t in contact with patients, and isn’t even technically an employee?

This Could Save Your Baby’s Life

Mothers protect their children in a variety of ways. One of the best ways is often ignored, and for no good reason.

Babies leaving the womb confront a tidal wave of germs, which can occasionally overwhelm them. For example, every year about 25 babies in the U.S.—all less than 2 months of age—die from pertussis (whooping cough). Because infants don’t receive their first dose of pertussis vaccine until they are 2 months old, and because one dose of vaccine wouldn’t be protective, the pertussis vaccine doesn’t prevent any of these deaths. Nonetheless, all of these babies could have been saved.

SUMMIT CALL RECAP – APRIL 6, 2017

Influenza Surveillance Update – Noreen Alabi (CDC)

Noreen provided highlights of the influenza surveillance report from week 12, ending on March 25, 2017. Influenza activity in the U.S. remains elevated. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza in clinical laboratories was 20.1%. Influenza A viruses were most common during week 12, with H3 viruses predominating. Nationwide, influenza-like illness (ILI) activity was at 3.2%, above the national baseline of 2.2% for the week.

Six influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported during Week 12. Three deaths associated with influenza A (H3) occurred during weeks 8, 10, and 11. Two other deaths occurring during weeks 8 and 11 were associated with an influenza A virus that was not subtyped. One death associated with influenza B occurred during week 11. A total of 61 pediatric deaths have been reported for the current (2016–2017) season. Of those eligible for vaccination who had a known vaccination status, 17% were fully vaccinated according to ACIP recommendations.

Between October 1, 2016 and March 25, 2017, 15,137 lab-confirmed influenza associated hospitalizations were reported. The overall hospitalization rate was 54.1 per 100,000; the rate is highest for those age 65 years or older, with 243.6 per 100,000. For the overall hospitalizations, 86.2% were positive for influenza A; of these, 97.9% were influenza A (H3).

Based on reports from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) surveillance system available on March 30 (for week ending March 11), 7.8% of deaths were due to pneumonia and influenza (P&I). This percentage is above the epidemic threshold of 7.5% for the week.

Other Items – L.J Tan (IAC)
  • The 2017 National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit is scheduled for May 9–11, 2017 in Atlanta, GA.
    • Meeting registration (Note: Partners needing to obtain the password to access this site may contact info@izsummitpartners.org.)
    • ­ The preferred lodging rate at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta is scheduled to expire soon. If you have not already done so, be sure to go through the Summit website and make a reservation soon.

SUMMIT CALL RECAP – APRIL 13, 2017

INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE UPDATE – NOREEN ALABI (CDC)

Noreen provided highlights of the influenza surveillance report from week 13, ending on April 1, 2017. Influenza activity in the U.S. has decreased, but remains elevated. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza in clinical laboratories was 18.4%. Influenza B viruses were most common during week 13. Nationwide, influenza-like illness (ILI) activity was at 2.9%. above the national baseline.

Seven influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported during Week 13. Two deaths associated with influenza A (H3) occurred during weeks 50 and 11. One other death occurring during week 13 was associated with an influenza A virus that was not subtyped. Four deaths associated with influenza B occurred during weeks 1, 7, 10, and 12. A total of 68 pediatric deaths have been reported for the current (2016–2017) season. Of those for whom vaccination status was available, approximately 16% were vaccinated according to ACIP recommendations.

Between October 1, 2016 and April 1, 2017, 16,021 lab-confirmed influenza associated hospitalizations have been reported. The overall hospitalization rate was 57.2 per 100,000; the rate is highest for those age 65 years or older, with 256.0 per 100,000. For the overall hospitalizations, 84.1% were positive for influenza A; of these, 97.9% were influenza A (H3).

Based on reports from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) surveillance system available on April 1 (for week 11, ending March 8), 7.3% of deaths were due to pneumonia and influenza (P&I). This percentage is below the epidemic threshold of 7.4% for the week.

OTHER ITEMS – LaDora Woods (CDC)
    • CDC has released a media announcement on a recent Pediatrics paper about the impact of influenza vaccine in children. The study indicated that 74% of children who had died of influenza were unvaccinated.
    • The 2017 National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit is scheduled for May 9–11, 2017 in Atlanta, GA.

SUMMIT CALL RECAP – APRIL 20, 2017

INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE UPDATE – NOREEN ALABI (CDC)

Noreen provided highlights of the influenza surveillance report from week 14, ending on April 8, 2017. Influenza activity in the U.S. has decreased, but remains elevated. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza in clinical laboratories was 15.2%. Influenza B viruses were most common during week 14. Nationwide, influenza-like illness (ILI) activity was at 2.6%, above the national baseline.

Five influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported during week 14. Three deaths associated with influenza A (H3) occurred during weeks 12 and 13. One death associated with influenza B occurred during week 14. A total of 72 pediatric deaths have been reported for the current (2016–2017) season. Of those for whom vaccination status was available, approximately 14% were vaccinated according to ACIP recommendations.

Between October 1, 2016 and April 8, 2017, 16,639 lab-confirmed influenza associated hospitalizations have been reported. The overall hospitalization rate was 59.4 per 100,000; the rate is highest for those age 65 years or older, with 256.6 per 100,000. For the overall hospitalizations, 82.2% were positive for influenza A; of these, 98% were influenza A (H3).

Based on reports from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) surveillance system available on April 8 (for week 12, ending March 25), 7.1% of deaths were due to pneumonia and influenza (P&I). This percentage is below the epidemic threshold of 7.4% for the week.

General Best Practices Document – Andrew Kroger (CDC)

Andrew announced that today CDC posted a new document, General Best Practice Guidelines for Immunization. This ACIP document is the newest iteration of what previously was called the General Recommendations on Immunization. The new guidelines address issues in common to all vaccines, such as timing and spacing of immunobiologics, vaccine contraindications and precautions, and preventing and managing adverse reactions.

This document was developed by the ACIP’s General Recommendations Workgroup. The new name reflects both the process by which the guidance was developed and the manner through which it will be provided in the future. It will live as an online document. Each section will have its own numbered tables and citation lists. Users can now click on the document from the ACIP recommendations webpage. The Guidelines are available in PDF format, with individual sections available for printing. CDC will not be printing large quantities of this document as they have in the past.

Continuing education credits will be available for the entire document, with the total numbers of credits varying by organization. It will take approximately 3.5 hours to read the entire document.

The biggest change in appearance from 2011 is that it is no longer an MMWR document. This will allow more rapid updating to the document as ACIP recommendations are updated. Because this replaces the 2011 document, CDC hopes to establish a redirect from the original document to the new Guidelines.

There are changes and updates within each of the ten sections of the document. The sections covered include:

  • Timing and Spacing of Immunobiologics
  • Contraindications and Precautions
  • Preventing and Managing Adverse Reactions
  • Vaccine Administration
  • Storage and Handling of Immunobiologics (Note: Much of this information is now covered in the Vaccine Storage and Handling Toolkit)
    Altered Immunocompetence
  • Special Situations
  • Vaccination Records
  • Vaccination Programs
  • Online Information Sources

Susan Lett complimented the team on the development of this massive document. Andrew noted that several webinars describing the changes are planned as part of their current Pink Book webinar series. Currently these are planned immediately before and after the June ACIP meeting. This information also will be incorporated into the land-based education sessions. L.J will share any updates on this with Summit call participants.

NVPO UpShot Awards – Angela Shen and Jordan Broderick (NVPO)

Jordan announced that NVPO is seeking nominations for the new NVPO UpShot Awards. This program was designed to recognize excellence across the vaccine and immunization systems, particularly efforts that advance the goals of the National Vaccine Plan (NVP). One non-monetary award will be made for each of the NVP goal areas, including: Goal 1- Develop new and improved vaccine; Goal 1 – Enhance the vaccine safety system; Goal 3 – Support communications to enhance informed vaccine decision making; Goal 4 – Ensure a stable supply of, access to, and better use of recommended vaccines in the United States; and Goal 5 – Increase global prevention of death and disease through safe and effective vaccination.

Eligible recipients include individuals and organizations who are not part of the federal government system. Nominations are due on April 26 (note: following the call, the deadline was extended to May 3), and winners will be announced at the National Vaccine Advisory Committee meeting held in Washington, DC, in June.

Between October 1, 2016 and April 8, 2017, 16,639 lab-confirmed influenza associated hospitalizations have been reported. The overall hospitalization rate was 59.4 per 100,000; the rate is highest for those age 65 years or older, with 256.6 per 100,000. For the overall hospitalizations, 82.2% were positive for influenza A; of these, 98% were influenza A (H3).

Based on reports from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) surveillance system available on April 8 (for week 12, ending March 25), 7.1% of deaths were due to pneumonia and influenza (P&I). This percentage is below the epidemic threshold of 7.4% for the week.

OTHER ITEMS – L.J TAN (IAC)

SUMMIT CALL RECAP – APRIL 27, 2017

INFLUENZA SURVEILLANCE UPDATE – NOREEN ALABI (CDC)

Noreen provided highlights of the influenza surveillance report from week 15, ending on April 15, 2017. Influenza activity in the U.S. has decreased, but remains elevated. The percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza in clinical laboratories was 12.6%. Influenza B viruses were most common during week 14. Nationwide, influenza-like illness (ILI) activity was at 2.0%, below the national baseline.

Five influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported during week 15. Four deaths associated with influenza A (H3) occurred during weeks 10, 14, and 15. One death associated with influenza B occurred during week 48. A total of 77 pediatric deaths have been reported for the current (2016–2017) season. Of those for whom vaccination status was available, approximately 15% were vaccinated according to ACIP recommendations.

Between October 1, 2016 and April 15, 2017, 17,055 lab-confirmed influenza associated hospitalizations have been reported. The overall hospitalization rate was 60.9 per 100,000; the rate is highest for those age 65 years or older, with 273.4 per 100,000. For the overall hospitalizations, 80.9% were positive for influenza A; of these, 97.9% were influenza A (H3).

Based on reports from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) surveillance system available on April 20 (for week 13, ending April 1), 7.2% of deaths were due to pneumonia and influenza (P&I). This percentage is below the epidemic threshold of 7.3% for the week.

OTHER ITEMS – Carolyn Bridges (CDC)
    • The 2017 National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit is scheduled for May 9–11, 2017 in Atlanta, GA.

Please Help the Summit, AIRA, and CDC Engage EHR Vendors in Immunization IT

The Summit has been active and interested in improving interoperability and utilization of EHRs and immunization information systems (IIS) for several years. Indeed, for the past two years, there has been a lot of prioritization of IIS and health information technology (HIT) activity within the Summit workgroups.

However, engagement by vendors of EHRs remains difficult. We hope that, with the Summit’s support, we can begin to change that in little steps. If you are connected with an EHR vendor, perhaps you can start by encouraging them to simply join in two activities in the IIS community that are not demanding on their time.

The first is the AIRA Standards & Interoperability Steering Committee (SISC). SISC provides technical support and guidance to interoperability efforts of AIRA members and the IIS community. They act as a liaison between national organizations involved with interoperability, such as the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) and others, and serve as a technical resource for AIRA members and the IIS community. SISC meets the 2nd Wednesday of every month from 1–2 pm ET. Participation of EHR, pharmacy, health information exchange (HIE), and other IIS partners trading perspectives is welcomed to help drive forward increased interoperability. For more information, please connect with Mary Beth Kurilo.

The second is the CDC Clinical Decision Support for Immunization (CDSi) project. This project provides a single, authoritative, implementation-neutral foundation for development and maintenance of CDS engines. It captures ACIP recommendations in an unambiguous manner and improves the uniform representation of vaccine decision guidelines, as well as the ability to automate vaccine evaluation and forecasting. Interested parties can reach out to Eric Larson.

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:

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

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