Thanks to support from CDC as part of its work to increase vaccine confidence, Immunize​.org now offers clinical tools for healthcare professionals and corresponding patient handouts on ways to address vaccination-related anxiety and distress in vaccine recipients of all ages. Together with the materials announced last week for adolescents and adults, the following documents complete Immunize​.org’s suite of materials designed to improve the vaccination experience for everyone, especially those who hesitate to accept vaccines because they don’t like injections:

• Addressing Vaccination Anxiety for Infants and Toddlers: Strategies for Parents and Caregivers
• Addressing Vaccination Anxiety for Infants and Toddlers: Strategies for Healthcare Professionals
• Addressing Vaccination Anxiety for Children: Strategies for Vaccine Recipients and Caregivers
• Addressing Vaccination Anxiety for Children: Strategies for Healthcare Professionals

• Immunize​.org: Improving the Vaccination Experience: Reducing Pain and Anxiety for Children and Adults on-demand webinar (2/28/23)
• Immunize​.org: Improving the Vaccination Experience: Accessible Vaccination for Neurodiverse People at Any Age on-demand webinar (12/13/22)
• Immunize​.org: Screening Checklists main page
• Immunize​.org: Handouts for Patients and Staff: Addressing Vaccination Anxiety main page

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CDC published Effectiveness of Monovalent and Bivalent mRNA Vaccines in Preventing COVID-19–Associated Emergency Department and Urgent Care Encounters among Young Children Aged 6 Months–5 Years—VISION Network, United States, July 2022–June 2023 in the August 18 issue of MMWR. A portion of the abstract appears below.

Effectiveness of ≥1 bivalent dose, comparing children with at least a complete primary series and ≥1 bivalent dose to unvaccinated children, irrespective of vaccine manufacturer, was 80% (95% CI = 42%–96%) among children aged 6 months–5 years a median of 58 days (IQR = 32–83 days) after the dose.

Access the MMWR article in HTML or PDF.

Related Link

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

CDC published Epidemiologic and Clinical Features of Mpox in Adults Aged >50 Years—United States, May 2022–May 2023 in the August 18 issue of MMWR. A portion of the summary appears below.

Childhood smallpox vaccination confers some cross-protection against mpox. Although persons aged >50 years likely received childhood smallpox vaccination, they might have more comorbidities and a higher risk for severe mpox compared with those aged ≤50 years. Information about waning cross-protective immunity and how this might affect risk for severe mpox is limited. . . .

Among 29,984 adults with mpox, those aged >50 years had higher prevalences of immunocompromising conditions and HIV and lower prevalence of symptoms than did those aged ≤50 years. Among 1,020 adults aged >50 years with vaccination data, prevalences of pruritus, constitutional symptoms, and hospitalization were lower among those who received JYNNEOS vaccine than among those who had not. . . .

All adults at risk for mpox should receive JYNNEOS vaccine, irrespective of childhood smallpox vaccination status. . . .



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 channels make it easy for you to learn a little more every day. This week, our featured episode from the Ask the Experts Video Series is COVID-19 Vaccine Dose for Almost-12-Year-Old? This short clip 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

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Recognizing the increasing threat to vaccine confidence, Unity Consortium launched a new 3Cs educational program to help healthcare providers deliver strong recommendations for all CDC/ACIP-recommended vaccines for adolescents and young adults.



Pursuit of the 3Cs: Confident, Concise, and Consistent Provider Recommendations for Adolescent Vaccines is a self-guided educational program. It uses video vignettes of healthcare providers responding to common questions from parents and caregivers about whether their adolescent or young adult should receive recommended vaccines. The videos demonstrate how providers can use simple motivational interviewing and shared clinical decision-making strategies to address concerns and move adolescents and parents to be confident in agreeing to vaccination.  

Additional elements include a Q&A resource (in English and Spanish), providing sample recommendations by age. The video series includes Spanish captions.

The 3Cs program provides continuing education credit for healthcare providers through Indiana University School of Medicine. Pursuit of the 3Cs video series is funded by Unity’s member organizations and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital’s HPV Cancer Prevention Program.

Visit Unity’s 3Cs web page for more information and to register for the free, online program.

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Immunize​.org's Handouts for Patients and Staff web page leads users to hundreds of vaccination-related patient handouts and fact sheets for healthcare professionals at no charge. All items are ready to print, copy, and distribute widely.

Visit the Handouts for Patients and Staff web page to view more than 230 handouts sorted by:

• Topic
• Vaccine
• Language

From the main page, you can search by any of the 22 topics. Some of the most popular are:

• Administering Vaccines
• Parent Handouts
• Screening Checklists
• Standing Orders
• Temperature Logs
• Top Handouts
• New! Addressing Vaccination Anxiety

• Summary of Recommendations for Children and Teens
• Summary of Recommendations for Adults
• Vaccinations for Adults—You’re Never Too Old to Get Immunized
• When Do Children and Teens Need Vaccinations?
• How to Administer Intramuscular and Subcutaneous Vaccine Injections: Administration by the Intramuscular (IM) Route

You can also view an alphabetical listing of Immunize​.org’s more than 230 ready-to-print staff educational materials and patient handouts.

Visit Immunize​.org's Handouts for Patients and Staff web page today!

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

• Washington Post: New Vaccines This Fall Could Curb COVID Variant, Respiratory Viruses (8/17/23)
• Columbus Monthly: Top Doctors: Anatomy of the Central Ohio Measles Outbreak and Why It Might Not Be the Last (8/15/23)
• Nature: Can the World Really Stop Wild Polio by the End of 2023? (8/15/23)

With the introduction of the new resources described in today’s top story, Immunize​.org now offers a comprehensive suite of new and updated resources to help you improve the vaccination experience of people anxious about injections. Review and share these as you prepare for the busy respiratory virus (influenza, COVID-19, RSV) vaccination season:

• All Immunize​.org screening checklists for vaccine contraindications include simple screening questions related to injection-related fainting and anxiety
• Three 1-page printable documents for healthcare professionals who want to address vaccination anxiety in infants and toddlers, children, or adolescents and adults
• Three 1-page patient handouts for vaccine recipients and caregivers with tips for coping with vaccination anxiety in infants and toddlers, children, and adolescents and adults
• A 1-page healthcare professional clinical resource and a corresponding patient handout explaining injection-related fainting and how to prevent it

• Immunize​.org: Improving the Vaccination Experience: Reducing Pain and Anxiety for Children and Adults on-demand webinar (2/28/23)
• Immunize​.org: Improving the Vaccination Experience: Accessible Vaccination for Neurodiverse People at Any Age on-demand webinar (12/13/22)
• Immunize​.org: Screening Checklist main page
• Immunize​.org: Handouts for Patients and Staff: Addressing Vaccination Anxiety main page

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Immunize​.org updated two hepatitis B handouts for healthcare personnel. Edits incorporate CDC's recent recommendation for screening all adults, including healthcare personnel, with a triple-panel test for hepatitis B at least once in a lifetime.

• Hepatitis B and Healthcare Personnel
• Hepatitis B Facts: Testing and Vaccination

      

Related Links

• Immunize​.org: Vaccines: Hepatitis B main page
• 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 Vaccines with Diluents: How to Use Them, adding Priorix (MMR, GSK).

Related Links

• Immunize​.org: Handouts: Administering Vaccines main page
• 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

Vaccine Track is a website that displays state and national trend data on use of vaccines recommended for U.S. adults. Vaccine Track is produced through a partnership between GSK and Iqvia, a data analytics company.

National vaccination trends in first quarter (Q1) 2023 indicate that vaccination rates are slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels. On average, vaccination reimbursement claims in Q1 2023 are 14% higher than Q1 2019. In Q1 2023, just 11 states were still processing fewer claims for adult vaccinations (excluding influenza) compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. 

This improvement is likely due, in part, to vaccine-related policy changes in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). As of January 1, Medicare recipients have no out-of-pocket cost associated with any CDC-recommended Part D vaccines, including routine and travel vaccines. This change lifts a significant barrier to vaccination in Medicare patients. In October 2023, similar Medicaid coverage of all CDC-recommended vaccines with no cost-sharing will go into effect.



Vaccine Track data are refreshed quarterly, while CDC data are typically updated annually. Vaccine Track is the first tool to make comprehensive vaccination claims data across different payer types available publicly.

Related Links

• GSK: Vaccine Track web page
• CDC: VaxView main page

On August 17, the influenza vaccine search functionality on Vaccines.gov, and its Spanish counterpart, Vacunas.gov was activated for the 2023–2024 flu season. Vaccines.gov offers VaccineFinder, a service of Boston Children’s Hospital, to help people find influenza and COVID-19 vaccines for any age group.


Related Links

• CDC: Weekly National Flu Vaccination Dashboard main page 
• CDC: FluView main page
• CDC: Influenza (Flu) main page
• Immunize​.org: free educational materials and patient handouts related to influenza
• Immunize​.org: Vaccines: Influenza main page
• Immunize​.org: Ask the Experts: Influenza main page
• Families Fighting Flu: Flu Resources for Healthcare Professionals main page

Immunize​.org’s elegantly designed “Vaccines Save Lives” pins are meaningful gifts for people who care about vaccination. The pin makes a refined statement in hard black enamel with gold lettering and edges, measuring 1.125" x 0.75".



The pin features a stick-through-post with the back covered by a round rubber cap that holds the pin securely. A gold metal spring-lock clasp is also provided.

Wear these pins on clothing, uniforms, and white coats to show that you value vaccines.

  

Click here for "Vaccines Save Lives" pin pricing and ordering information.

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In the July 14 issue, Annals of Medicine published Disparities in Child and Adolescent COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage and Parental Intent toward Vaccinations for Their Children and Adolescents. A portion of the abstract appears below.

By age group, completed primary series was 13.2% among children <5 years, 43.9% among children 5–11 years, and 63.3% among adolescents 12–17 years. Booster vaccination among those who completed the primary series was 39.1% among children 5–11 years and 55.3% among adolescents 12–17 years. Vaccination coverage differed by race/ethnicity, educational attainment, household income, region, parental COVID-19 vaccination status, prior COVID-19 diagnosis, child’s age group, and parental age group. Parental reluctance was highest for children aged <5 years (46.8%). Main reasons for non-vaccination among reluctant parents were concerns about side effects (53.3%), lack of trust in COVID-19 vaccines (48.7%), and the belief that children do not need a COVID-19 vaccine (38.8%).

CDC published Progress toward Poliomyelitis Eradication—Pakistan, January 2022–June 2023 in the August 18 issue of MMWR. On the same day, WHO's Weekly Epidemiological Record published a corresponding article. A portion of the MMWR summary appears below.

Transmission of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) has never been interrupted in Pakistan, one of two countries with ongoing endemic transmission. . . .

Twenty WPV1 cases were reported in Pakistan during 2022, and one case during 2023 (as of June 2023), all clustered within a small geographic area in the southern region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, an area with considerable security challenges and a history of vaccine hesitancy. Recent isolation of WPV1 from sewage in Karachi suggests surveillance gaps and improvements needed in immunization campaign quality. . . .

To interrupt WPV1 circulation, the Pakistan polio program needs to meticulously track and sustain innovative efforts to vaccinate children who are regularly missed during polio vaccination activities, especially in reservoir areas affected by conflict and insecurity. . . .



Access the MMWR article in HTML or PDF.

Related Links

• MMWR's main page provides access to the MMWR family of publications
• Current issue and archives of the Weekly Epidemiological Record