News and Media Resources:
Immunization Works! May 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.
Front Page News
National Infant Immunization Week: CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) would like to thank our international, national, state, and local partners who worked together April 21-28, to promote the importance of immunizations during National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW) and Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA).
Thousands of immunization champions across the country planned special NIIW activities to educate and inspire parents and providers to protect infants and toddlers from vaccine-preventable diseases. Because of the dedication of these immunization champions, infant immunization messages were heard from coast to coast through television, radio, newspapers, and magazines.
Anne Schuchat, Director of NCIRD, Melinda Wharton, Deputy Director of NCIRD, Jeanne Santoli, Deputy Director of NCIRD’s Immunization Services Division, and other NCIRD staff were honored to participate in 34 NIIW and VWA events in the U.S., bi-national events along the U.S.-Mexico border, and international activities on the borders between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. In the U.S., NCIRD staff traveled to 17 cities in 8 states to participate in NIIW events. They joined forces with the Governor of Colorado Bill Ritter, Colorado’s Lieutenant Governor Barbara O’Brien, Nevada’s First Lady Dawn Gibbins, U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission Members, representatives from PAHO, health ministers, state and local health commissioners, regional health directors, and state and local health department and county officials to provide clear and consistent messages about the importance of infant immunizations. Events included press conferences, media interviews, grand round presentations, provider education conferences and webcasts.
While NIIW is truly a partnership success story, NCIRD recognizes that our nation’s success in achieving high levels of childhood immunization coverage is the result of work carried out all year long by healthcare professionals, local and state health departments, community-based organizations, immunization coalitions and other partners. You and your organization were the key to the success of this year’s NIIW, and the backbone of the national immunization program’s success.
Please help us get the full picture of the activities carried out throughout the country for NIIW by adding your event to this year’s NIIW listing at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/2007/activity_form.htm and completing a feedback form at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/default.htm#act
NIIW and VWA will be held next year on April 19-26, 2008. Please bookmark CDC’s website, www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niiw/default.htm#act, and check back Fall 2007 for information on next year’s observance.
Other News and Summaries
Partners Convene for National Influenza Vaccine Summit: On April 19th and 20th 2007, more than 190 representatives from 83 different public and private organizations convened in Atlanta, GA, for the 2007 National Influenza Vaccine Summit, co-hosted by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The objectives of the meeting were to address the challenges of the recent 2006-2007 Influenza Season, plan for the 2007-2008 Season, learn about initiatives and success stories for increasing demand for vaccine, and develop innovative ideas for addressing issues identified during the Summit. Keynote speeches were given by Dr. Ronald M. Davis, president-elect of the AMA and Dr. Anne Schuchat, Director, CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). Four licensed influenza vaccine manufacturers provided estimates for production for influenza vaccine for the 2007-2008 Season. According to their estimates, production may be as high as 132 million doses. Based on the topics presented and discussed, the Summit Executive Committee will consider the development of several action teams. Power Point slide presentations for each presenter are available on the Summit’s website at http://preventinfluenza.org (exit) under “What’s New”.
Walter Orenstein Receives Merieux Award: The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) has presented the 2007 Dr. Charles Merieux Award for Achievement in Vaccinology and Immunology to Walter A. Orenstein, MD, Associate Director of the Emory Vaccine Center. The award was given at the NFID's Tenth Annual Conference on Vaccine Research in Baltimore on April 30th. Dr. Orenstein also delivered a lecture on the state of immunization. The Merieux Award honors those whose outstanding lifetime contributions to the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases have led to significant improvement in public health.
Dr. Orenstein culminated a 26-year career at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as Director of the CDC's National Immunization Program (NIP). At NIP, Dr. Orenstein led the U.S. effort to eliminate many of the most common vaccine-preventable diseases in this country. He served as an assistant surgeon general of the U. S. Public Health Service, as chairman of the World Health Organization's Technical Consultative Group on the Global Eradication of Poliomyelitis, as a member and rapporteur of the Pan American Health Organization's Technical Advisory Group on Vaccines and Immunization, as a member of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee, and as a member of the International Editorial Board for the journal Vaccine. Dr. Orenstein is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. His many honors include the receipt of the CDC's Charles C. Shepard Lifetime Scientific Achievement Award in 2004.
Addition of Novel Influenza A Virus to NNDSS: On January 9, 2007, the Executive Committee of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) approved an interim position statement, adding novel influenza A virus infections (defined as human infections with influenza A viruses that are different from currently circulation human influenza H1 and H3 viruses) to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) The addition of this infection to NNDSS is expected to facilitate the following: 1) timely identification and confirmation of cases, 2) timely reporting of cases to CDC, and 3) early initiation of appropriate health responses to human infections with novel influenza A viruses that might have pandemic potential. These infections must be reported immediately to the World Health Organization under the revised International Health Regulations (IHR) approved by the World Health Assembly on May 23, 2005. The revised regulations will take effect in the United States on June 15, 2007. CDC is collaborating with partners to develop plans to implement the revised IHR by that date. More information can be found in the article in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5613a4.htm
Report on Polio Eradication -- Pakistan and Afghanistan: Of the four countries where wild poliovirus (WPV) transmission has never been interrupted, two are in the World Health Organization's (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region: Pakistan and Afghanistan. During January 2006--February 2007, the number of reported WPV cases in both countries increased. In addition, an increase was observed in the number of affected districts; however, genetic diversity of the virus decreased, and regions of transmission remained limited. A new report in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) updates a previous report and describes polio cases and eradication activities in Pakistan and Afghanistan during January 2006--February 2007. Critical to the success of polio eradication will be high vaccination coverage among children in areas of frequent conflict along the border between these two countries. More information can be found in the MMWR article at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5614a5.htm
Hepatitis Awareness Month -- May 2007: May 2007 marks the 12th anniversary of Hepatitis Awareness Month. A recent issue of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) highlights public health measures to vaccinate and protect children from hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in China and to monitor the characteristics of persons with chronic hepatitis B in San Francisco, California.
Worldwide, 370 million persons have chronic HBV infection, and 500,000--700,000 persons die annually from HBV-related liver disease; approximately 75% of HBV infections occur in Asia. Persons with chronic HBV infection are at risk for premature death from liver cirrhosis and cancer. Hepatitis B vaccination of infants worldwide will protect successive generations from chronic HBV infection and associated liver disease. To view the complete report, please visit the MMWR home page at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5618a1.htm
Meetings, Conferences, & Resources
Upcoming Satellite Broadcasts: Please mark your calendars for several upcoming satellite broadcasts from the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD). These include Immunization Update 2007 (August 9, 2007) and Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (December 13, 2007). Also, the annual four-part series broadcast, Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, will occur on January 31, February 7, February 14, and February 21, 2008. As more information becomes available, it will be posted at www2.cdc.gov/phtn
New Hepatitis A Training Tool: The sixth instructional module in CDC’s Immunization: You Call the Shots series of web-based training materials is now available. This latest module, “Hepatitis A,” provides information on hepatitis A virus infection, the hepatitis A vaccine, and recommendations for vaccine use. Immunization: You Call the Shots is an interactive, self-study course intended for healthcare professionals. The course is available free of charge, and for continuing education credits, on the NCIRD website at: www.cdc.gov/vaccines/ed/youcalltheshots.htm
Questions or comments about the “Hepatitis A” module may be e-mailed to nipinfo@cdc.gov.
CDC Unveils New Website: CDC recently unveiled a new Web site. The new website will provide better access to health and safety topics, data and statistics, news and events, and expanded tools and resources, as well as an improved search engine. It is user-centered, based on research, and is the product of extensive user testing of CDC’s principal audiences. New website features include:
- CDC Features - timely articles keep you informed on important health topics
- Health and Safety Topics - content organized for better browsing
- CDC For You - CDC resources grouped for specific audiences
- New Search Engine - relevant search results and "suggested topics"
- A-Z Index - alphabetical listing of all of CDC's online information
- Top 20 List - see what's popular on CDC.gov
- Data & Statistics - public health data, survey results, and trends
- Tools & Resources - calculators, photos, podcasts, and other helpful tools
- Publications - MMWR, EID, and other journals, newsletters, periodicals
- What's New - quick links to what's new on CDC.gov
- E-mail Updates - CDC.gov updates emailed to your inbox
- Tag Cloud - graphic representation of most requested CDC.gov topics
CDC partner organizations may wish to offer a text link to the CDC.gov website to provide visitors with direct access to CDC’s health information. The new website can be found at www.cdc.gov
Next ACIP Meeting: The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will hold its next meeting on June 27-28, 2007 at the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia. This meeting is open to the general public, but advanced registration is required. The draft agenda, and information about registration for the June meeting can be found at ACIP’s website at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/acip/default.htm
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/employment/
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Content last reviewed on May 17, 2007
Content Source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
