News and Media Resources:
Immunization Works! August 2007 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.
Front Page News
CDC Launches Pre-Teen Vaccine Campaign: The CDC′s Pre-teen Vaccine Campaign is designed to inform parents, caregivers, family physicians and pediatricians about CDC′s new vaccination recommendations for 11- and 12-year-olds. The three pre-teen vaccines include MCV4, which protects against meningitis and its complications; Tdap, which is a booster against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis or "whooping cough," and for girls, the HPV vaccine, which protects against the types of HPV that most commonly cause cervical cancer.
Research shows that pre-teens generally do not get preventive healthcare, visiting the doctor only when they are sick. One goal of this campaign is to encourage parents to take their pre-teens in for the recommended 11 or 12 year old check-up, which is endorsed by the American Academy for Pediatrics (AAP), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), in addition to CDC.
The campaign also seeks to provide caregivers and their health care providers with the latest information about pre-teen vaccines and the pre-teen check-up in the form of fact sheets and posters. It also includes outreach to mainstream and ethnic media, as well as the creation of partnerships with national and state organizations who reach parents and healthcare providers.
The campaign’s August 1st launch coincided with National Immunization Awareness Month in August, and included media events in New York City and Los Angeles. From August 1st though 3rd, Dr. Anne Schuchat, Director of CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) participated in media roundtables and desk side briefings about pre-teen immunization and the pre-teen medical check-up. Joining Dr. Schuchat in New York City was AAP’s President-Elect, Dr. Renee Jenkins. In Los Angeles, Dr. Schuchat was joined by Dr. Charles Wibbelsman, from AAP’s Committee on Adolescence. Together, they met or spoke with more than 40 members of the mainstream media including reporters from Family Circle Magazine, Parenting Magazine, CNN radio and Reuters. More than 20 reporters from the country's largest ethnic media outlets attended the minority media roundtables, providing coverage in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Russian, and in the African American, Middle Eastern and Caribbean communities. Also, Dr. Schuchat and Ms. Ana Rivera, from CDC's Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, were interviewed by more than 30 Spanish and English radio stations around the country.
The campaign’s Web site,
www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/preteens-adol/07gallery/default.htm, provides easy-to-understand, downloadable educational materials in English and Spanish for parents and healthcare providers about the vaccines and the diseases they prevent.
Other News & Summaries
Influenza Update: An article in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) provides an update about 2006-07 influenza activity as well as information about the composition of the 2007-08 influenza vaccine. In the 2006-07 Season, influenza activity peaked in mid-February in the United States and was associated with less mortality and lower rates of pediatric hospitalizations than during the previous three seasons. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended that the 2007--08 trivalent influenza vaccine for the United States contain A/Solomon Islands/3/2006-like (H1N1), A/Wisconsin/67/2005-like (H3N2), and B/Malaysia/2506/2004-like viruses. This represents a change only in the influenza A (H1N1) component. A/Solomon Islands/3/2006 is a recent antigenic variant of the 2006--07 vaccine strain A/ New Caledonia/20/99. The influenza A (H3N2) and influenza B components remain the same. More information can be found at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5631a2.htm
Revised MCV4 Recommendations: In June 2007, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) revised its recommendations for Meningococcal Conjugate Vaccine (MCV4). The revised recommendations were since published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), and include routine vaccination of all persons aged 11-18 years with 1 dose of MCV4 at the earliest opportunity. This recommendation would replace the previous ACIP recommendation for routine vaccination with MCV4 of children at 11 through 12 years of age, of adolescents before high school entry (approximately 15 years of age), and other people at increased risk. ACIP continues to recommend routine vaccination for persons aged
19-55 years who are at increased risk for meningococcal disease (such as college freshmen living in dorms). The complete article can be found at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5631a3.htm
A new report published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) details the most recent findings for Hepatitis A vaccine coverage for children between 24 and 35 months old. The National Immunization Survey (NIS) findings from 2004 and 2005 are similar to those from 2003; states where routine hepatitis A vaccination was recommended had greater vaccination coverage compared with states where vaccination was to be considered or where there was no specific recommendation for vaccination. However, even in states where hepatitis A vaccination was recommended, coverage remained below levels seen for other vaccinations that were recommended during a comparable period. Despite these comparatively low levels of 1-dose hepatitis A vaccination coverage, incidence of acute Hepatitis A virus (HAV) has declined to the lowest level ever recorded. The 2005 licensure of the hepatitis A vaccine for use in younger children (12 months or older) and the 2006 ACIP guidelines for routine hepatitis A vaccination of all children should result in improved vaccination coverage and more reductions in disease. The full report can be found at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5627a2.htm
Progress toward Global Polio Eradication: According to an article published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), progress toward global polio eradication continued during 2006 and the first 5 months of 2007. However, the number of countries where wild poliovirus (WPV) transmission has never been interrupted remained at four (Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan). Continuing challenges included intense WPV circulation in northern India during 2006, low vaccination coverage with oral polio vaccine (OPV) during supplemental immunization activities (SIAs) in Nigeria, and security problems preventing access to children during SIAs along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Programmatic strategies to address these challenges consisted of large-scale use of type 1 monovalent oral polio vaccine (mOPV1), targeted programs (e.g., cross-border synchronization of polio campaigns) to reach more children through SIAs, and introduction of new laboratory procedures to confirm cases more rapidly. The full report can be found at: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5627a3.htm
Meetings, Conferences, & Resources
HPV - Gardasil and GBS Fact Sheet: CDC’s Immunization Safety Office (ISO) has developed a fact sheet that was created in response to the National Vaccine Information Center’s (NVIC’s) recent press release, which called for a change to CDC’s recommendations concerning human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. CDC’s fact sheet, which emphasizes that there are no changes to any of the existing HPV recommendations and contains media talking points, can be found at
www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/hpv/downloads/hpv-gardasil-gbs.pdf 
Save the Date, Immunization & Health Coalitions Conference: The 8th National Conference on Immunization and Health Coalitions will be held in San Francisco, CA from May 21-23, 2008 at the Downtown Marriott. Please see future editions of Immunization Works for more information.
Updated VIS Statements: CDC has recently updated its Hepatitis B Vaccine Information Sheet (VIS) and Influenza VIS. CDC has also updated its Mandatory Instructions for Use of the Vaccine Information Statements. Each of these can be found at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/ in audio, PDF, printer-friendly, and text-only formats.
Updated Guidelines for Vaccinating Pregnant Women: CDC has recently updated its booklet Guidelines for Vaccinating Pregnant Women on its Vaccines and Immunizations web section. The updated information is abstracted from recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). To access or print the booklet, go to www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/preg-guide.htm
Upcoming Broadcasts, Webcasts and Netconferences: Please mark your calendars for upcoming broadcasts and webcasts from CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD):
- September 13, 2007, 12 Noon – 1:00 PM EST, New Influenza Vaccine Recommendations (Netconference)
- October 11, 2007, 12 Noon – 1:00 PM EST, Travel Health Issues Including Malaria (Netconference)
- December 13, 2007, Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (Satellite Broadcast)
More information about these and other training opportunities can be found at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/ed/default.htm
Vaccine Safety Article: A recently published article in Nursing2007 provides nursing professionals with the latest information and resources on how to prevent adverse events related to immunizations and what to do when they occur. The April 2007 article, “How can you promote vaccine safety?” also serves as a continuing nursing education activity. The article and continuing education test can be found at www.nursingcenter.com/prodev/ce_article.asp?tid=707168 (exit)
CDC Training Opportunities: Through established programs, CDC offers many unique training opportunities in infectious disease, including international opportunities. For a current listing of CDC training opportunities, please visit www.cdc.gov/phtrain
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, including international opportunities, please visit www.cdc.gov/employment
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Content last reviewed on August 24, 2007
Content Source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
