News and Media Resources:

Immunization Works! February 2007 issue

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Immunization Works Monthly Update is provided to national health care provider and consumer groups for distribution to their members and constituencies. The immunization information provided is non-proprietary and is encouraged to be widely disseminated and shared.

CDC Begins Centralized Vaccine Distribution Roll-Out

On February 5, 2007, a three-year initiative to centralize pediatric vaccine distribution will begin its final phase: implementing the new distribution process. This initiative, known as the Vaccine Management Business Improvement Project (VMBIP), began with the creation of a team to review all elements of the vaccine supply chain that supports 64 state and local immunization programs (e.g., states, territories, and 6 city grantees). The major goals of this effort have been to:

1. Simplify processes for the ordering, distribution, and management of vaccines to be able to respond more quickly and effectively to public health crises related to disease outbreaks, vaccine shortages, and disruptions of the vaccine supply.

2. Implement a more efficient vaccine distribution system.

3. Reduce the lead time between orders for vaccine and delivery of vaccine, as well as enable the direct delivery of vaccines to providers.

Implementation of centralized vaccine distribution will begin with four pilot grantees: California, Chicago, Maryland, and Washington. Once the process has been tested in the four pilot sites, the program will be expanded to other state and local programs in two phases: 1) Third-party consolidation, which primarily includes programs that currently contract out their distribution to a third-party distributor; and 2) in-house consolidation, which includes the remaining programs that currently distribute vaccine using their own vaccine storage facilities and staff. The entire implementation period will last from February 2007 through March 2008.

In addition to the physical flow of vaccine, information flows are also being improved. One of the major elements for completion of the implementation process will be the creation of a new Vaccine Ordering Distribution System (VODS) that will support the ordering and management of vaccines. Unlike the current ordering system, VODS will allow providers to place vaccine orders directly into a web-based ordering system. For more information about the VMBIP initiatives visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vmbip/

Other News and Summaries

Global Goal to Cut Measles Surpassed: Early in this century, the United Nations set an ambitious public health goal: to cut global measles deaths in half by 2005 compared with 1999 levels. That baseline year, measles killed an estimated 873,000 people, the vast majority young children in developing countries. Measles mortality data for 2005, published in The Lancet on January 20, reveals that measles deaths fell to 345,000, a drop of 60%. Thus, the global goal was not just achieved, but surpassed.

During the period from 1999-2005, large-scale measles vaccination campaigns and improvements in routine immunization services prevented an estimated 2.3 million measles deaths. Much of the success for the reduction in measles deaths is due to the support of the Measles Initiative and the commitment of governments of countries with large measles burdens, particularly in Africa. CDC is a founding member of the Measles Initiative, along with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the American Red Cross, and the United Nations Foundation. During its first five years (2001-2005), the Initiative was the main international supporter of large-scale measles immunization campaigns in more than 40 countries in Africa and Asia, leading to the vaccination of more than 360 million children.

Through the Initiative, CDC provides technical assistance to host governments to help plan, implement, and evaluate immunization programs, including operations research, and provides funds to purchase bundled measles vaccine for mass vaccination campaigns. The success in meeting this goal has led to a new goal: to cut global measles deaths by 90% by 2010 compared with levels in 2000. The abstract for this study can be found at The Lancet website at www.thelancet.com (exit) (The Lancet, January 2007, Volume 369, Issue 9557).

New Medical Coding Standard for VAERS: January 17, 2007, marked a significant milestone for the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), the nation’s frontline vaccine safety surveillance system jointly administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since its inception in November 1990, VAERS had used the FDA's Coding Symbols for a Thesaurus of Adverse Reaction Terms (COSTART) medical coding terminology. On January 17, VAERS transitioned to the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) system for medical coding of adverse event case reports. This change is expected to enhance vaccine safety monitoring by improving the description and analysis of adverse event case reports. MedDRA is an internationally accepted medical terminology system which provides improved sensitivity for characterizing symptoms and adverse events through the provision of more than 63,000 lower level terms (LLTs). It also promotes improved standardization in the representation of distinct medical concepts through the provision of more than 17,000 preferred terms (PTs). For more information on VAERS and MedDRA coding, please visit the respective websites at www.vaers.hhs.gov/ and www.meddramsso.com/MSSOWeb/index.htm (exit)

New “You Call the Shots” Module Released: The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), CDC, announces the release of “Influenza,” the fifth instructional module in the Immunization: You Call the Shots series of web-based training materials. This latest module provides information on influenza infection, the influenza vaccine, and recommendations for vaccine use. Extra learning opportunities, self-test practice questions, reference and resource materials, and an extensive glossary are all provided in an attractive, easy-to-use format.

Immunization: You Call the Shots is an interactive, self-study course that allows participants to complete at their own pace. It is intended for introductory training of healthcare professionals who provide immunizations and can serve as a reference or refresher for all immunization providers. Other modules include "Understanding the Basics: General Recommendations on Immunization," "Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis," "Polio," and "Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)." Continuing education credits are provided and the course is available free of charge on the NCIRD website at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/ed/youcalltheshots.htm

Prepare for National Infant Immunization Week, 2007: National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) will be held April 21-28, 2007, to promote, through community events and media activities, the benefits of immunizations and to highlight the importance of vaccinating children by the age of 2. "Love them. Protect them. Immunize them." is the theme for this year’s observance. CDC is providing Technical Assistance (TA) to aid program coordinators, health departments, coalitions, and others in their efforts to disseminate NIIW messages. English and Spanish-language resources, supporting local NIIW activities are available online at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/ CDC is also offering two teleconferences to provide information about NIIW activities and resources.

Teleconferences Dates:
March 13 at 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. (EST)
March 14 at 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. (EST)

To register for the teleconference and receive connection information and materials, email Cindy Fowler at ctg7@cdc.gov. Please include the teleconference date and time and put “Campaign Teleconference Registration” in the subject line of the email.
Let us know what you are doing to promote childhood immunization during the week of April 21-28, and find out how others will celebrate NIIW. Add your events to the national NIIW event listing located at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/2007/activity_form.htm

Join the Brighton Collaboration: The Brighton Collaboration, an activity of the Immunization Safety Office (ISO), would like to invite healthcare professionals to join the newly established Bell’s Palsy Working Group. In an effort to ensure comparability of future studies of Bell’s palsy as a potential adverse event following immunization (AEFI), the Brighton Collaboration aims to develop a case definition and guidelines that would standardize vaccine safety data. Active involvement in the Working Group would entail participation in monthly one hour conference calls and e-mail correspondence. Additionally, members are asked to review updated documents that are provided prior to each call. For further details on this process, please visit: www.brightoncollaboration.org/internet/en/index/process.html (exit)
Recruitment for the Working Group will continue through the end of February 2007. To volunteer or for additional questions, please contact us at secretariat@brightoncollaboration.org (exit)

Immunization Public Service Announcements by Every Child by Two: Every Child by Two (ECBT), the Carter/Bumpers Campaign for Early Childhood Immunization, has created three Public Service Announcements promoting immunizations. "Immunize on Time" is about the importance of immunizing your child on time, every time; "Vaccines Are Safe" addresses the existence of vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States and the safety of vaccines; and "Immunization Registries" stresses the importance of having your child's immunization history in your city or state immunization information system (IIS). The “Vaccines Are Safe” PSA is currently running in patient rooms in 1,500 hospitals across the country, and ECBT is exploring other venues for airing the PSAs, including network and cable TV. These PSAs can be viewed on ECBT's web site at www.ecbt.org/ (exit) or on You Tube via the following links:

"Immunize On Time"
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbS5XOKGLt4) (exit)
"Vaccines Are Safe"
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_0_swVkKks) (exit)
"Immunization Registries"
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckIT7oey4_g) (exit)

To receive a copy of the PSAs in DVD, VHS, or Beta format, please contact Every Child By Two at info@ecbt.org or 202-783-7034.

Meetings, Conferences, & Resources

Immunization Satellite Broadcast: The last of CDC's annual four-part series, Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, is scheduled for February 15, 2007, from 12 to 4 pm Eastern time. This session will include information on hepatitis B, hepatitis A, influenza, HPV, and pneumococcal disease. A live question-and-answer session will be conducted via toll-free telephone lines. Continuing Education (CE) credits will be provided. More information can be found at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/ed/broadcasts.htm#1

ACIP meeting scheduled for February 21–22, in Atlanta: The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will hold its next meeting on February 21-22 at CDC's Clifton Road campus in Atlanta. Topics to be discussed at the meeting include the 2006-2007 influenza season, vaccine priorities, adolescent and adult immunization, immunization registry systems, and the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act. The meeting is open to the public and all attendees (participants and visitors) are encouraged to register online at: www2.cdc.gov/nip/ACIP/februaryRegistration.asp For more information, go to www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/acip/

New Vaccine Management Manual Available: The 2007 edition of Vaccine Management: Recommendations for Storage and Handling of Selected Biologicals is available at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/bk_vac_mgt.pdf The purpose of this manual is to ensure that healthcare providers properly store, handle, and ship vaccines. By maintaining the cold chain, providers can be confident that the vaccine retains its potency and reduce the expense of wasted vaccine, caused by improper storage and handling practices.

New Resource for Hepatitis B Prevention: CDC has created a Hepatitis B Vaccination for Adults’ Resource Center which provides the newly posted Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations for adults, in addition to links for resources and materials. The Resource Center can be found at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/recs/index.htm

Updated VIS for Varicella: CDC has recently updated its online Varicella Vaccine Information Sheet (VIS) to include the new two-dose schedule for children. It can be accessed at
www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/ in audio, PDF, printer-friendly, and text-only formats.

Automatic VIS Updates: A new feature has just been added to the Vaccine Information Sheet (VIS) page on the NIP website. This feature is located at the top of the page at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/ and it allows individuals to sign up for email notification when changes are made to the VIS webpage, including new VIS, as well as updates.

Register for NIC: The 41st National Immunization Conference (NIC), to be held from March 5–8, 2007 in Kansas City, Missouri, will be comprised of six topic tracks: Adolescent and Adult Vaccination, Epidemiology and New Vaccines, Influenza, Immunization Information Systems, Programmatic Issues, and Health and Risk Communication. Participants can register online at the NIC Web site at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/nic/

CDC Materials Temporarily Unavailable: All CDC materials, including immunization materials, are temporarily unavailable for order. CDC regrets the inconvenience, and appreciates your patience until ordering can resume. In the meantime, please visit the immunization website at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines where the majority of materials are available for download.

International Immunization Job Openings: CDC’s Global Immunizations Division (GID) is currently recruiting for many exciting and challenging positions. Interested candidates may send a letter of interest and CV to NIPglobaljobs@cdc.gov. The following positions are open:

• SEARO – Medical Officer / Epidemiologist - Indonesia– GMB (Global Measles Branch)
• ATLANTA / FAST Team – Medical Officer / Epidemiologist – (2 Positions) – PEB (Polio Eradication Branch)
• AFRO – Medical Officer / Epidemiologist - Zimbabwe (East/Southern ICST) –GMB
• AFRO – Medical Officer / Epidemiologist - Burkina Faso – (Western ICST) – GMB
• EMRO – Medical Officer / Epidemiologist – Egypt – (June 2007) – GMB
• EURO – Medical Officer – Denmark – (July 2007) – GMB/PEB
• SEARO – Medical Officer / Epidemiologist – India – (August 2007) – PEB
• UNICEF – Medical Officer / Epidemiologist – New York City (September 2007) – GMB
• UNICEF – Medical Officer / Epidemiologist or Public Health Advisor – New York City - (November 2007) – PEB
  

CDC Job Openings: CDC is committed to recruiting and hiring qualified candidates for a wide range of immunization positions. Researchers, Medical Officers and Epidemiologists as well as other specialties are often needed to fill positions within CDC. For a current listing of positions available at CDC, please visit www.cdc.gov/about/employmt.htm

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