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Immunization Works! December 2005 issue
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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.
Routine Childhood Immunizations Save Billions Each Year
A recent study by CDC’s National Immunization Program (NIP) evaluated the impact of seven vaccines (DTaP, Td, Hib, polio, MMR, hepatitis B, and varicella) routinely given as part of the childhood immunization schedule and found that vaccines are tremendously cost effective. This is the first time the seven vaccines have been examined together and with a common methodology.
The study found that the use of these seven vaccines will prevent over 14 million cases of disease and over 33,500 deaths over the lifetime of children born this year. When comparing the cost of the diseases they prevent and the cost of administering them, these vaccines save nearly $10 billion per year. These vaccines also prevent the need for patients to spend time seeking care and the need for parents to take time off work to care for sick children. When including these and other prevented costs to society, the annual savings exceed $40 billion.
A child is protected from vaccine-preventable diseases after receiving a series of vaccines over time, not just one shot. Therefore, this economic evaluation is groundbreaking in that previous studies demonstrating the cost savings of childhood vaccination in the United States have only focused on single vaccines. Expanding beyond the single- vaccine cost benefit perspective provides policymakers better information about the economic impact of the immunization program by examining a routine seven-vaccine U.S. childhood immunization schedule.
This analysis will be helpful in understanding the economic effects of the immunization program under current circumstances. Administrators and policy makers may use the results to justify sustained support for programs, make needed modifications and guide future programs.
The publication - entitled “Economic Evaluation of the 7-Vaccine Routine Childhood Immunization Schedule in the United States, 2001” - appears in the December 2005 edition of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. A summary can be found on the Archive website at http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/159/12/1136 (exit)
Other Immunization News
CDC Director Announces New NIP Center Director
CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding recently announced the appointment of a new director for CDC’s National Immunization Program (NIP), Anne Schuchat, M.D.
Dr. Schuchat began her career at CDC as an Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer in 1988 and most recently served as the Acting Director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID). She has made critically important contributions to prevention of infectious diseases in children, including her role in group B streptococcal disease prevention, where she spearheaded the development of CDC’s guidelines which have led to an 80 percent reduction in newborn infections and a 75 percent narrowing of racial disparity in this infectious disease. She has also been instrumental in pre- and post-licensure evaluations of conjugate vaccines for bacterial meningitis and pneumonia and in accelerating availability of these new vaccines in resource poor countries through WHO and the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization.
To view the CDC press release concerning Dr. Schuschat’s appointment, please visit www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r051123.htm
CDC Seeks Public Comment
CDC is seeking public comment on the new CDC Health Protection Research Guide, 2006-2015. The comment period, which began on Friday, November 18, 2005, will last for 60 days, concluding on January 15, 2006.
The Research Guide will provide a comprehensive, long-range vision of national and global public health needs that CDC and its partners can address through research. The Research Guide will help identify critical knowledge needed to achieve CDC's new Health Protection Goals which are designed to maximize the health impact of programs, services, and emergency responses. The research guide can be accessed, and comments can be submitted from a public website: www.rsvpBOOK.com/custom_pages/50942/index.php (exit)
Comments from CDC partners, stakeholders and the public will be considered in producing the final version the Research Guide, expected to be completed in early 2006. For more information, please call Jamila Rashid, PhD, MPH, of CDC’s Office of Public Health Research, at 404-639-4621 or send an e-mail to ResearchGuide@cdc.gov. More information about the Office of Public Health Research and the new Research Guide can be found at www.cdc.gov/od/ophr
Influenza Supply Update
As of the end of November, more than 78 million doses of influenza vaccine had been produced and distributed within the United States. However, while some communities and providers appear to have ample supplies of influenza vaccine, others may not have received much influenza vaccine and may have used most, if not all, of their supply. Some communities and providers may not have received any vaccine.
The total amount of vaccine expected to be available in the United States this season is enough to meet past consumer demand which has usually been around 70-75 million doses. However, in some communities current demand for vaccine might be exceeding what has been seen in previous years (perhaps due to increased media attention on avian influenza, or “bird flu”, concerns resulting from last year’s vaccine shortage or increased use among children).
In addition, Chiron Corporation recently announced that it will not be able to produce as much vaccine as it originally anticipated. Consequently, providers and distributors who ordered from Chiron received substantially less vaccine than they had ordered.
The very last doses of influenza vaccine are currently being produced (3.5 million doses from sanofi pasteur and 680,000 doses from Chiron) and will be available late in December or January as part of the CDC influenza vaccine stockpile. Since influenza peaks most often in January and February, vaccination is encouraged through the winter months.
CDC is currently assessing how distribution of influenza vaccine has gone this season with physicians, public health agencies, community vaccinators, pharmacists, occupational health providers, federally qualified health centers, nursing homes, and the public. While influenza vaccine distribution and administration are mostly private sector enterprises, CDC will continue to work with manufacturers and our partners to address challenges of matching influenza vaccine supplies with demand at national, state, community, and provider levels.
To view questions and answers concerning the 2005-06 influenza vaccine supply, please visit www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/0506supply.htm
Final VISs for Injectable and Nasal-spray Influenza Vaccines
CDC recently posted the final Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) for the trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV; injectable) and the live attenuated intranasal influenza vaccine (LAIV; nasal spray). The final influenza vaccine VISs are dated 10/20/05. They may be used immediately; however, stocks of the interim influenza VISs (dated 7/18/05) may be used through December 31, 2005.
To obtain a ready-to-print (PDF) version of the final VIS for TIV (injectable) and the VIS for LAIV (nasal spray), please visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/VIS/.
Also, please note that CDC has updated the one-page Instructions for the Use of Vaccine Information Statements (dated 11/4/05). This document can be accessed at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-Instructions.pdf 
New Data Concerning Immunization Information Systems
One of the national health objectives for 2010 is to increase to at least 95% the proportion of children less than 6 years old who participate in fully operational, population-based immunization registries. Immunization registries are confidential, computerized information systems that collect and consolidate vaccination data from multiple health-care providers, generate reminder and recall notifications, and assess vaccination coverage within a defined geographic area. A registry with added capabilities, such as vaccine management, adverse event reporting, lifespan vaccination histories, and linkages with electronic data sources, is called an Immunization Information System (IIS).
CDC's 2004 IIS Annual Report summarizes data from a survey of 56 grantees in 50 states, five cities, and the District of Columbia (DC) that receive funding under section 317b of the Public Health Service Act. The Report indicates that of approximately 23 million U.S. children less than 6 years old, an estimated 48% (11 million) participated in an IIS. The 2004 rate represents a 4% increase from 2003, with approximately 1 million more children participating in an IIS. Overcoming challenges and barriers to increasing the number of provider sites and the percentage of children less than 6 years participating in an IIS is critical to achieving the national health objective. CDC has developed a plan of action to address those challenges. Major components of the plan include, but are not limited to, a multiyear IIS business plan for each grantee and enhanced technical assistance to grantees with unresolved challenges. To view the MMWR article on this topic, please visit www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5445a3.htm
Imported Case of Congenital Rubella Syndrome, New Hampshire
A recent MMWR article describes a case of imported Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) diagnosed in an infant girl aged 10 weeks in 2005. The girl was born in New Hampshire to Liberian refugee parents in November, 2004. In 2004, an independent panel convened by CDC declared rubella no longer endemic in the United States. Nine cases of rubella were reported in 2004, and four cases of congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) were reported during 2001-2004. However, worldwide, an estimated 100,000 infants are born with CRS annually. To prevent transmission of rubella, clinicians should consider a diagnosis of CRS in infants with compatible clinical signs; particularly those born to mothers who recently immigrated from countries without rubella control programs, and rubella vaccine should be administered to susceptible persons. Please visit www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5445a5.htm to view the MMWR article on this topic.
Meetings, Conferences, and Resources
New Module Released in “You Call the Shots” Series
CDC’s National Immunization Program (NIP) announces the release of the third instructional module in the Immunization: You Call the Shots series of web-based training materials. This latest module, titled “Polio,” discusses polio disease, the polio 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 participants can 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. The course is available free of charge on the NIP website at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/ed/youcalltheshots.htm. Continuing education credits are provided.
Upcoming Satellite Broadcast, December 8, 2005
CDC’s next satellite broadcast, titled Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, will be on December 8, 2005 from 12:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET. This course is designed to provide information on case investigation, outbreak control, and disease reporting for vaccine-preventable diseases. It will stress the most epidemiologically important data to collect and will discuss methods of enhancing surveillance and completing case investigations. For more information, please visit www2a.cdc.gov/phtn/VPD-05/. CE credits will be provided.
Register for NIC
The 40th National Immunization Conference (NIC) — to be held March 6-9, 2006, at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia — will comprise six topic tracks: Adult and Adolescent Immunization, Epidemiology and Vaccine Safety, Health and Risk Communications, Immunization Information Systems, Programmatic Issues, and Policy and Legislation. Please register before January 13, 2006 to obtain the best rate. Participants can register online at the NIC Web site, www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/nic
Save the Date: 7th National Conference on Immunization Coalitions
The 7th National Conference on Immunization Coalitions will be held from August 9 - 11, 2006 in Denver, Colorado. For details, please contact Roberta Smith (Colorado Influenza and Pneumococcal Alert Coalition, Adult Immunizations) at 303-692-2332 or roberta.smith@state.co.us. In addition, more information will be forthcoming in future editions of Immunization Works.
NIP Needs Pilot Testers
The National Immunization Program (NIP) has an ongoing need for volunteers to pilot test immunization training courses. Volunteers are particularly needed in the following occupations: physicians, pharmacists, health educators, medical assistants and nurses. To learn more about becoming a pilot tester, please send an email to nippilot@cdc.gov
Job Openings within NIP
The National Immunization Program (NIP) is committed to recruiting and hiring qualified candidates for a wide range of positions. Researchers, Medical Officers and Epidemiologists as well as other specialties are often needed to fill positions within NIP. Interested parties are encouraged to apply for these positions. For a current listing of positions available at NIP, please visit www.cdc.gov/hrmo/hrmo.htm
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Content last reviewed on December 7, 2005
Content Source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
