Support National Influenza Vaccination Week

CDC

It’s National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) – Dec. 1-7, 2019. NIVW highlights the importance of continuing flu vaccination through the holiday season and beyond. NIVW serves as a reminder that even though the holiday season has arrived, it’s not too late to get a flu vaccine.

As long as flu viruses are spreading and causing illness, vaccination should continue throughout the flu season in order to protect as many people as possible against flu. Everyone 6 months of age and older should get a flu vaccine every season. Advise your patients that it’s not too late to get a flu vaccine!

Additional information and resources for NIVW can be found at: https://go.usa.gov/xPd6X

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Influenza season has begun; make sure your patients are vaccinated

IAC Express

Influenza season has now begun. Nationally, flu activity is low but increasing, and Louisiana and Puerto Rico are both continuing to experience high levels of influenza-like illness. Two influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported to CDC during the week ending October 19; no new influenza-related pediatric deaths were reported during the week ending November 2.

Influenza vaccination is recommended for everyone six months of age and older, so please continue to vaccinate all your patients in this age range. If you don’t provide influenza vaccination in your clinic, please recommend vaccination to your patients and refer them to a clinic or pharmacy that provides vaccines or to the HealthMap Vaccine Finder to locate influenza vaccination services near them.

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CDC releases 10 updated Vaccine Information Statements

IAC Express

CDC released new interim Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) for Hib, HPV, PCV13, polio, and rotavirus vaccines. CDC also released final VISs for cholera, PPSV23, typhoid, and zoster (both live and recombinant) vaccines.

Access these VISs on their respective IAC web pages by clicking on the links below.

For both interim and final VISs, CDC encourages you to begin using them immediately, but stocks of the previous editions may be used until exhausted.

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CDC shares tips on strong flu vaccine recommendations

CDC

Visit the Center for Disease Control’s Make a Strong Flu Vaccine Recommendation web page to help you make a strong recommendation for influenza vaccination, including a video, descriptions of all recommended flu vaccines and a link to the HCP Fight Flu Toolkit. Below are some tips from the website:

It is necessary for some patients to receive a strong recommendation from their provider. CDC suggests using the SHARE method to make a strong vaccine recommendation and provide important information to help patients make informed decisions about vaccinations:

 


SHARE the reasons why the influenza vaccine is right for the patient given his or her age, health status, lifestyle, occupation, or other risk factors.

HIGHLIGHT positive experiences with influenza vaccines (personal or in your practice), as appropriate, to reinforce the benefits and strengthen confidence in influenza vaccination.

ADDRESS patient questions and any concerns about the influenza vaccine, including side effects, safety, and vaccine effectiveness in plain and understandable language.

REMIND patients that influenza vaccines protect them and their loved ones from serious influenza illness and influenza-related complications.

EXPLAIN the potential costs of getting influenza, including serious health effects, time lost (such as missing work or family obligations), and financial costs.

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#KansasFightsFlu

IKC

New campaign materials launched!

Immunize Kansas Coalition (IKC) has set goals to increase influenza immunization rates from 53.2% to 63.2% for children 6 months – 17 years and from 37.3% to 47.3% for adults 18 years and older for flu season 2019-2020. View the 2018-19 Kansas Influenza Surveillance.

KFMC and KDHE have led the way in creating the #KansasFightsFlu campaign with tools and ideas you can implement to increase immunization rates in your community.

Go to immunizekansascoalition.org/kansasfightsflu to check out these new resources and opportunities for involvement in your community.

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Path to Improved Health for Seniors

FamilyDoctor.org

Please share these important preventive health care services with your older adult patients and their families:

  • Annual wellness exam: Visit your doctor once a year for a physical. He or she will measure your height, weight, and body mass index. Your doctor will talk with you about any medicines you’re taking, your eating habits, and your activity level. This exam is a good way to check your overall health.
  • Influenza vaccine: This yearly vaccine helps prevent influenza (the flu). Older adults should get this vaccine every year. Between 70 and 90% of the deaths from influenza are in people 65 years of age or older.
  • Pneumococcal vaccines: The pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) are both important to help prevent pneumonia. For people who have pneumonia, it helps prevent life-threatening complications. This is especially important for older adults. They are more likely to get pneumonia and develop complications.
  • Breast cancer screening: The risk of getting breast cancer increases as you get older. More than 40 percent of all new breast cancer cases are in women 65 years of age and older. Women between the ages of 50 and 74 should have a mammogram every 2 years to screen for breast cancer. Depending on your breast cancer risk factors, your doctor may recommend you have a mammogram more often.
  • Colorectal cancer screening: Sixty percent of new colorectal cancer cases are in adults 70 years of age and older. The AAFP recommends screening for colorectal cancer with fecal immunochemical tests, flexible sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy starting at age 50 years and continuing until age 75 years. The risks, benefits, and strength of supporting evidence of different screening methods vary. Your doctor can discuss options for the type of screening tests available.
  • Diabetes screening: Diabetes is very common in older adults. It affects 1 out of every 4 adults 65 years of age and older. If you are overweight or obese, your doctor may test you for diabetes, even if you don’t have symptoms.
  • High Blood Pressure Screening: The possibility of developing high blood pressure increases as you get older. Your doctor will probably check this each time you are in the office, and at least once a year.
  • Cholesterol screening: High cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Men 35 years of age and older should have their cholesterol levels checked on a regular basis. Women 45 years of age and older who are at risk for coronary heart disease should also be tested. Cholesterol levels are checked with a blood test.
  • Osteoporosis screening: The risk of osteoporosis increases as you get older. Women who are 65 years of age and older should be tested for osteoporosis. This test is called a bone mass (or bone density) test.
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2019–20 Influenza Season Recommendations Released

CDC

The CDC has released Prevention and Control of Seasonal Influenza with Vaccines: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices—United States, 2019–20 Influenza Season in the August 23 issue of MMWR Recommendations and Reports. The summary section is reprinted below.

This report updates the 2018–19 recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) regarding the use of seasonal influenza vaccines in the United States (MMWR Recomm Rep 2018;67[No. RR-3]). Routine annual influenza vaccination is recommended for all persons aged ≥6 months who do not have contraindications. A licensed, recommended, and age-appropriate vaccine should be used. Inactivated influenza vaccines (IIVs), recombinant influenza vaccine (RIV), and live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) are expected to be available for the 2019–20 season. Standard-dose, unadjuvanted, inactivated influenza vaccines will be available in quadrivalent formulations (IIV4s). High-dose (HD-IIV3) and adjuvanted (aIIV3) inactivated influenza vaccines will be available in trivalent formulations. Recombinant (RIV4) and live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV4) will be available in quadrivalent formulations.

Updates to the recommendations described in this report reflect discussions during public meetings of ACIP held on October 25, 2018; February 27, 2019; and June 27, 2019. Primary updates in this report include the following two items. First, 2019–20 U.S. trivalent influenza vaccines will contain hemagglutinin (HA) derived from an A/Brisbane/02/2018 (H1N1)pdm09–like virus, an A/Kansas/14/2017 (H3N2)–like virus, and a B/Colorado/06/2017–like virus (Victoria lineage). Quadrivalent influenza vaccines will contain HA derived from these three viruses, and a B/Phuket/3073/2013–like virus (Yamagata lineage). Second, recent labeling changes for two IIV4s, Afluria Quadrivalent and Fluzone Quadrivalent, are discussed. The age indication for Afluria Quadrivalent has been expanded from ≥5 years to ≥6 months. The dose volume for Afluria Quadrivalent is 0.25 mL for children aged 6 through 35 months and 0.5 mL for all persons aged ≥36 months (≥3 years). The dose volume for Fluzone Quadrivalent for children aged 6 through 35 months, which was previously 0.25 mL, is now either 0.25 mL or 0.5 mL. The dose volume for Fluzone Quadrivalent is 0.5 mL for all persons aged ≥36 months (≥3 years).

This report focuses on the recommendations for use of vaccines for the prevention and control of influenza during the 2019–20 season in the United States. A brief summary of these recommendations and a Background Document containing additional information are available at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/vacc-specific/flu.html. These recommendations apply to U.S.-licensed influenza vaccines used within Food and Drug Administration–licensed indications. Updates and other information are available from CDC’s influenza website (https://www.cdc.gov/flu). Vaccination and health care providers should check this site periodically for additional information.

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NIAM Features #HowIRecommend Vaccination Video Series, plus CME activities for YOU

CDC

Thank you for your support of National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) in August by encouraging your patients to be up to date on recommended vaccines.

Check out this new resource, #HowIRecommend Video Series, which offers simple and practical guidance for having successful vaccine conversations with parents and patients. These short videos demonstrate how to make effective vaccine recommendations, address common vaccine questions, and take a team-based approach to vaccination.

CDC has also developed Medscape CME activities to help healthcare professionals have successful conversations with parents about vaccines. Access these CME activities:

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Kansas HPV Vaccine Rates Improve Significantly

KDHE

The National Immunization Survey regarding teens released its annual report for 2018 which shows Kansas is improving in vaccine rates for HPV and MenACWY and remaining consistent with Tdap. This report is available in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The survey, which is conducted among teens ages 13 to 17, monitors the vaccines received by adolescents, specifically HPV, MenACWY and Tdap.* “In 2014, Kansas had the lowest coverage in the nation for the HPV vaccine with only 34.4 percent of respondents reporting one or more doses received,” said KDHE Secretary Lee Norman, MD. “I’m very pleased to report that Kansas is now at 62.3 percent coverage in 2018, up significantly from 52.4 percent in 2017.”

Kansas has seen an average increase in HPV coverage of 6.3 percentage points annually since 2014 while the national average increase has been 4.4.

*Vaccine Description:
1. Tdap – protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. The vaccine is recommended for children ages 11-13. The Healthy People 2020 target is 80 percent coverage. Kansas’ 2018 rate is 89.4 percent.
2. MenACWY – protects against certain strains of meningococcal disease. This vaccination is recommended for patients ages 11-13 with a booster dose at age 16. The Healthy People 2020 target is 80 percent. Kansas’ 2018 rate is 75.3 percent.
3. HPV – protects against HPV-related cancers. Two-dose series are recommended for ages 11-13. Doses should be administered six months apart. If the first dose is not given before 15th birthday, a three-dose series is needed. The Healthy People 2020 target is 80 percent. The Kansas 2018 rate is 62.3 for one or more doses.

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Vaccine Videos Available

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

When it comes to vaccination, parents trust your expertise more than anyone else. Watch the CDC’ s latest videos on the topic. The #HowIRecommend video series features short, informative videos from clinicians like you. These videos explain the importance of vaccinations, how to effectively address questions from parents about vaccine safety and effectiveness, and how clinicians routinely recommend same-day vaccinations to their patients. Learn more here.

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