O, Canada! In tribute to Canada’s 155th national anniversary, July 1, we are sharing select Canadian vaccination resources. Best wishes to all our vaccinating friends in Canada!

Expert committees:

• National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), counterpart to ACIP
• Committee to Advise on Tropical Medicine and Travel (CATMAT)

Advocacy groups:

• CANVax (Canadian Vaccination Evidence Resource and Exchange Centre) – Search through their library of resources (curated by the Canadian Public Health Association)
• Immunize Canada—A national coalition of non-governmental, professional, health, government, and private sector organizations with a specific interest in promoting the understanding and use of vaccines recommended by NACI
• Canadian Nurses Association 

Helpful resources:

• Canadian Immunization Guide, counterpart to CDC’s "The Pink Book"
• Canadian Communicable Disease Report (CCDR), counterpart to MMWR
• Canadian Adverse Events following Immunization Surveillance System (CAEFISS)
• Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
  • Immunization and vaccine awareness materials (PDFs, videos)
  • Immunization Competencies for Health Professionals 
• Canadian Paediatric Society: Education Program for Immunization Competencies (EPIC)
• Provincial and Territorial Routine and Catch-Up Vaccination Schedule for Infants and Children in Canada
• Provincial and Territorial Routine Vaccination Programs for Healthy, Previously Immunized Adults
• CARD System (Comfort, Ask, Relax, Distract) – Strategies that will help to provide a better vaccination experience

COVID-19 resources:

• Health Canada: Vaccine Authorizations for COVID-19
• Public Health Agency of Canada: COVID-19
• Public campaign coalition: Thisisourshot.ca

Government institutions: 

• Health Canada, counterpart to HHS
• Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), counterpart to CDC
• Health Products and Food Branch (HPFB), counterpart to FDA
• Drug Product Database online query – List of drugs and vaccines permitted to be distributed within Canada, corresponding to licensed or approved status in the United States

CDC published Disparities in COVID-19 Disease Incidence by Income and Vaccination Coverage—81 Communities, Los Angeles, California, July 2020–September 2021 in the June 30 issue of MMWR. A portion of the summary appears below.

In 81 communities in Los Angeles, California, COVID-19 incidence during two surges before vaccine availability (July 2020 and January 2021) was higher in lower-income communities compared with higher-income communities. During the first surge after vaccines became available (September 2021), a disparity in COVID-19 incidence between the highest- and lowest-income communities was not observed. The impact of vaccination on COVID-19 incidence was highest in the lowest-income communities despite their lower vaccination coverage. . . .

Addressing barriers to vaccination within lower-income communities is critical to reducing disparities in disease incidence and COVID-19–related illness in the United States.

Access the MMWR article in HTML or PDF.

Related Link

• MMWR's main page provides access to the MMWR family of publications

Immunize.org’s social media program highlights our educational resources for today’s vaccinators. This week, our featured episode from the Ask the Experts Video Series is Doses of DTaP Needed to Protect a Baby from Pertussis. This is available on our YouTube channel, along with our full collection of quick video answers to popular Ask the Experts questions.

Our social media channels feature our most popular printable resources, our Ask the Experts Video Series, and announcements important to frontline vaccinators. Like, follow, and share Immunize.org’s social media accounts. Encourage colleagues and others interested in vaccination to do likewise:

• Facebook at ImmunizeOrg
• Instagram at ImmunizeOrg
• LinkedIn at Immunize.org
• Twitter at ImmunizeOrg
• YouTube at ImmunizeOrg

In this week's Spotlight, we summarize features at Immunize.org that help you quickly find the resources you need.

Our "Favorites" tab links to 18 of the most highly visited pages on Immunize.org's content-rich website, including training materials and clinic tools. The “Favorites” tab is easy to find—it’s the first of the six blue tabs atop each Immunize.org web page. When you hover over this blue tab or select it, the Favorites main page will appear.

Our “Guide to Immunize.org” appears in the light gray section at the bottom of each web page. The alphabetized topics link you directly to Immunize.org's main pages.

Our Google search bar, which appears in the dark gray bar atop each page, will aid in searching Immunize.org content. 

Our View All Materials web page offers access to all of Immunize.org's handouts for patients and staff, sortable by title, language, date, and item number.

These recent articles convey the potential risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and the importance of vaccination.

• AMA: Watch: RSV Vaccine Recommendations and ACIP Meeting Recap with Sandra Fryhofer, MD (6/27/23)
• Rheumatology Advisor: COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy, Distrust in Health Authorities Common in Adolescents (6/27/23)  

Immunize.org recently updated three of its Questions and Answers: Diseases and Vaccines handouts with minimal edits, including a QR code, and updated URLs. Updated handouts include:

• Diphtheria: Questions and Answers
• Pertussis (Whooping Cough): Questions and Answers
• Tetanus: Questions and Answers

Related Links

• Immunize.org: Diphtheria: Questions and Answers (PDF)
• Immunize.org: Pertussis (Whooping Cough): Questions and Answers (PDF)
• Immunize.org: Q&As: Diseases and Vaccines (PDF)
• Immunize.org: Handouts for Patients and Staff main page, where you can sort materials by topic, vaccine, or language
• Immunize.org: Educational Materials for Patients and Staff—an alphabetical listing of more than 230 ready-to-print staff educational materials and patient handouts

Immunize​.org updated its Ask the Experts: Hepatitis A web page. Changes include updated statistics and refreshed content. 

Immunize​.org's Ask the Experts main page leads you to 30 distinct web pages on a variety of topics with more than 1,200 common or challenging questions and answers (Q&As) about vaccines and their administration. Immunize​.org's team of experts includes Kelly L. Moore, MD, MPH (team lead), Carolyn B. Bridges, MD, FACP, and Iyabode Beysolow, MD, MPH.

Related Links

• Immunize​.org: Ask the Experts: Hepatitis A web page
• Immunize​.org: Ask the Experts main page to access more than 1,200 questions and answers

Immunize​.org posted seven new translations for the Hepatitis B Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) issued on May 12, 2023. 

All translations are available in print-ready PDF format. 



Hepatitis B VIS (view in English):
Arabic
Bengali
Chinese - Simplified
Haitian Creole
Portuguese
Russian
Vietnamese

Check the version dates of your office copies of newly updated translations. Translations of previous VIS versions should be discarded now that translations of the current versions are available.

Immunize​.org's www.Give2MenACWY.org website promotes the importance of adolescent vaccination, including the recommended MenACWY vaccine booster dose at age 16. Many teens are behind on vaccines because of the pandemic, so vaccine outreach is more important than ever.

Materials on this colorful website for healthcare professionals incorporate the 2020 ACIP meningococcal vaccine recommendations and coverage statistics from CDC’s National Immunization Survey–Teen (NIS–Teen). One particularly popular resource on the site is the updated Algorithm for MenACWY Immunization in Adolescents 11 through 18 Years of Age.

The website is divided into five easy-to-access sections:

• Vaccinate Teens – Teen vaccination schedules and tips for improving vaccination rates
• Give 2 Doses – Tools to help improve second dose coverage of MenACWY vaccine
• 16-Year-Old Visit – Resources to help providers and patients remember the important vaccines recommended for 16-year-olds
• Tools for Providers– Tools to explain meningococcal ACWY vaccine recommendations and improve coverage for all adolescent vaccines
• Resources – Links to print materials, organizations involved in adolescent vaccination, personal stories about the importance of vaccination, and other resources of interest

The site also categorizes materials according to whether they are primarily of interest to providers, to adolescents, or to parents.

Visit Give2MenACWY.org and enjoy browsing (and deploying) its bountiful resources.

Related Links 

• Give2MenACWY.org website
• Algorithm for MenACWY Immunization in Adolescents 11–18 Years of Age
• MenACWY: You're Not Done If You Give Just One: Give 2 Doses to Strengthen Protection
• Recommending MenACWY: What to Say and How to Say It
• Top 10 Ways to Improve Adolescent Immunization Rates
• Developing an Immunization Culture in Your Office
• Know Your Rates: Measuring Immunization Success in Your Practice
• You're 16: We Recommend These Vaccines for You
• Dear Colleague Letter: 16-Year-Old Patients: Make Sure They Receive Their Annual Well Visit and Vaccinations – signed by six medical societies
• Ask the Experts: Meningococcal ACWY
• CDC: 2020 ACIP Meningococcal Vaccine Recommendations
• CDC: National, Regional, State, and Selected Local Area Vaccination Coverage among Adolescents Aged 13–17 Years — United States, 2020
• CDC: Adolescent Vaccination Coverage in the U.S.

In the June 29 issue, New England Journal of Medicine published Vaccine Effectiveness of JYNNEOS against Mpox Disease in the United States. The conclusions section appears below.

In this study using nationwide EHR [electronic health record] data, patients with mpox were less likely to have received one or two doses of JYNNEOS vaccine than control patients. The findings suggest that JYNNEOS vaccine was effective in preventing mpox disease, and a two-dose series appeared to provide better protection. 

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Anyone can be infected by hepatitis B virus. Everyone can benefit from knowing their status and being protected. For more than 30 years, hepatitis B vaccination has been recommended for all U.S. infants. In 2022, CDC recommended catch-up hepatitis B vaccination of all adults through age 59 years and older adults with risk factors or who want to be vaccinated. In 2023, CDC recommended one-time hepatitis B infection screening of all adults. Integrating these two important recommendations into clinical practice poses unique challenges for healthcare providers.

This live, 1-hour webinar, Hepatitis B-Gone! Implementing Universal Adult Screening and Vaccination. Your Practical Questions Answered., will be hosted by Immunize.org on July 13 at 3:00 p.m. (ET). Panelists will discuss the recommendations and your practical clinical questions about how to affect the policies in private and public healthcare settings. Widespread implementation of adult screening and catch-up vaccination brings within reach the goal of eliminating hepatitis B-related liver damage and cancer in the United States.

The panelists will be:

• Carolyn Wester, MD, MPH, Director of CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis
• Kelly Moore, MD, MPH, CEO of Immunize.org
• L.J Tan, PhD, MS, Chief Policy and Partnership Officer of Immunize.org

Dr. Wester and Dr. Moore are coauthors of the ACIP hepatitis B vaccination policy statement and longstanding champions of hepatitis B elimination.

Register now to watch this important session and get your practical questions answered.



This webinar was developed by Immunize.org and was supported by Grant No. NH23IP922654 from CDC and an independent educational grant from VBI Vaccines. Its contents are solely the responsibility of Immunize.org and do not necessarily represent the official views of either CDC or VBI Vaccines.