This newsletter is meant to keep you up to date on issues related to vaccines quickly and
easily. We hope it will serve as a resource while provoking thoughts and stimulating conversations.
We welcome your comments and questions; please email us at
vacinfo@email.chop.edu.
VEC Announcements: Vaccine Course
Online Vaccine Course with Dr. Offit
Coursera offers free online courses led by professors at universities, including University
of Pennsylvania (Penn), Princeton University, Stanford University and the University of Michigan.
As part of Penn’s course offerings, Dr. Offit was invited to present a four- to five-week course
related to vaccines.
The course will run for four to five weeks during June and July. You can participate by
going to
https://www.coursera.org/course/vaccines.
News and Views: Vaccine Storage Temperatures
Charlotte A. Moser, Assistant Director, and Paul A. Offit, Director, Vaccine Education Center
at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
When the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) reported that inspections of 45 doctors’
offices revealed inconsistent temperatures and expired vaccines, news outlets across the country
carried stories.
Here are related materials»
In the Journals: Alternative Immunization Schedules
Paul A. Offit, MD, Director, Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia
On June 18, 2012, researchers from the Oregon Immunization Program and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a paper titled
“ Frequency of Alternative Immunization Schedule Use in a Metropolitan Area”
(Robison SG, Groom H, and Young C. Pediatrics 2012;130:32-38). The purpose of the study was to
evaluate the percentage of parents who chose to delay or withhold vaccines. What they found was
troubling. Between 2006 and 2009, the percentage of parents in Oregon choosing an “alternative”
vaccine schedule increased from 2.5 percent to 9.5 percent. Children whose parents chose this
schedule received fewer shots per visit but visited the physician more frequently for their
immunizations.
Read more about their findings»
Technically Speaking: Responding to
Requests for Personal Belief Exemptions – Some Helpful Resources
Deborah L. Wexler, MD, Executive Director, Immunization Action Coalition
All states have immunization requirements for entry into schools, which have led to our
nation’s great success in reaching high immunization levels. School entry laws and mandates vary
from state to state, but they typically are in place for entry into childcare, kindergarten, middle
school, high school and (less frequently) post-secondary institutions. The specific vaccines that
are required vary from state to state as well.
Read more»
From the Media - Vaccines in Court
Connecticut: Legislation Requiring Doctors to Get Vaccines from the Government
Several news outlets reported on the current issue in Connecticut in which doctors may be
mandated to get childhood vaccines from the state rather than place orders privately. Government
officials are citing an increase in the number of vaccines offered and reduced costs associated
with the vaccines, while providers are expressing concerns over potential vaccine shortages and the
proposed short-implementation timeline.
Read some media-related coverage of the story:
Pro-Vaccine Parent Wins in Court
In Canada, where a divorced couple disagreed over the safety of immunizations, the Vancouver
Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of the pro-immunization parent. The ruling gave the father the
authority to make all immunization-related decisions despite the fact that the parents share equal
authority in all other aspects of the child’s health and welfare.
Read more»
On the Calendar
Do you need continuing education credits? Do you want to attend a meeting in your area or
register for a webinar? Do you know which health observances are coming up?
Check
the calendar»
On the Bookshelf: "If I Could Tell You" by Hannah Brown
Charlotte A. Moser, Assistant Director, Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia
Although fictional,
If I Could Tell You provides life-like characters with all of their imperfections dealing
with real life issues related to living with autism. The stories show the breadth of responses to
the diagnosis as well as to the approaches to treatment.
Read
a review and find out where the book is available»
Resources: VIS Updates, Pertussis Vaccination Outreach
Letter, New Issues of
Needle Tips and
Vaccinate Adults, and New Spanish-Language Resource
Vaccine Information Statements (VIS) Updates
In an effort to make Vaccine Information Statements (VIS) more available for
integration into electronic systems, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in the
process of making all VIS available in rich text format (.rtf). From this format, they will be able
to be changed into other file formats using Microsoft Word. As of June 7, 2012, MMR, hepatitis A,
hepatitis B and polio VIS have been completed. All will be available on the
VIS page of the CDC
website.
Two-dimensional
barcodes have now been added to several VIS, including MMR (previously announced), hepatitis A,
hepatitis B, HPV, polio, Japanese encephalitis, meningococcal, Td and Tdap, and typhoid.
PDFs of VIS can be
downloaded to mobile phones as well
Pertussis Vaccination Outreach Letter
The American Academy of Pediatrics, along with several partner groups, released a
letter to healthcare providers related to pertussis vaccination. The second page of the letter
includes a pertussis vaccine dosing guide.
Check
it out online or post a copy where your staff can easily refer to it.
New Issues of
Needle Tips
and
Vaccinate Adults
The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) released the May 2012 issue of
Needle Tips and
Vaccinate Adults.
Needle Tips
is for healthcare professionals who administer vaccines.
Vaccinate Adults
only includes the content from
Needle Tips that relates to adult patients.
New Spanish-Language Resource
The History of Vaccines has announced Spanish translations of several of their
materials as well as a Spanish language Twitter account: @historiavacunas. The Spanish resources
can be found on the
History of Vaccines
website.
