This newsletter is meant to keep you up to date on issues related to vaccines quickly
and easily. We welcome your comments and questions; please email us at
vacinfo@email.chop.edu.
VEC Announcements: New Meningococcus Video, AAP Book
Winners and 2013 Webinar Dates
New meningococcus video
We are pleased to share a new
two-minute video aimed at
educating college students about the importance of getting a meningococcal vaccine. The video was
written, directed and produced by Cary Chester, a college student from Swarthmore who interned with
the Vaccine Education Center this summer. The video offers the perspective of a college student
aiming to educate his peers. We hope you enjoy the video as much as we did and find it useful with
patients recommended to get a meningococcal vaccine.
Links to the video can be found on the
multimedia
page of our website.
AAP book winners
Congratulations to the winners of autographed copies of the book, “Deadly Choices,” by Dr.
Offit. People who visited our booth in the exhibit hall at the AAP meeting and took our survey were
eligible for the contest:
- A. Modi, Marvin, NC
- L. Sigal-Spitzer, Foxborough, MA
- S. Young, Glen Carbon, IL
- M. Campbell, Gulfport, MS
- N. Wilson-Carr, Fairmont, WV
2013 webinar dates
The Vaccine Education Center and the PA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics will
hold the following “Current Issues in Vaccines” webinars during 2013:
- March 13
- September 11
- November 13
Information and registration will be available closer to each event on the webinar page of
our website,
http://vaccine.chop.edu/webinars.
Mark your calendar or print
this
flyer as a reminder. Continuing education credits will be offered. Topics will be announced a
few weeks prior to each event and will be based on ACIP’s meeting agendas or vaccine-related topics
of current interest in the media or to the public.
News and Views: Global Routine Vaccination Coverage,
2011
Charlotte A. Moser, Assistant Director, and Paul A. Offit, Director, Vaccine Education Center
at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
The November 2, 2012 issue of
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly (MMWR) provided annual rates of global immunization
coverage during 2011. While global vaccine coverage is not something we might often consider as we
try to get children in the United States immunized, it is important to realize how small the globe
can be with the ease of international travel. Many countries do not struggle with a complex
immunization schedule, but the healthcare providers in those countries might wish they did have
such an issue because the truth of the matter is, if they are not struggling with the vaccinations,
they are likely struggling with the diseases.
Review
the data from other immunization programs in other parts of the world»
In the Journals: Egg-Allergic Patients Can Be Safely
Vaccinated Against Influenza
Paul A. Offit, MD, Director, Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia
Egg allergy is the second most common food allergy, affecting 1 percent to 2 percent of all
children. In the United States, this corresponds to between 150,000 to 250,000
influenza-vaccine-eligible preschoolers. Anne Des Roches and coworkers at the Institutes of Health
Research in Canada recently examined whether egg proteins contained in the influenza vaccine posed
a real or only theoretical risk to patients with severe egg allergy (Des Roches A, et al., “Egg
Allergic Patients Can Be Safely Vaccinated Against Influenza,”
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2012 Nov;130(5):1213-1216.
To answer this question, the authors conducted a prospective cohort study recruiting and
vaccinating patients with egg allergy, including severe egg allergy (i.e., those with anaphylaxis
or cardiorespiratory symptoms following egg ingestion).
Read
more about the findings»
Technically Speaking: CDC Publishes
FAQs about New Vaccine Storage and Handling Guidelines
Deborah L. Wexler, MD, Executive Director, Immunization Action Coalition
In early October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released
Interim Guidelines
for Vaccine Storage and Handling, Frequently Asked Questions. Written by CDC experts, these 19
questions and answers (FAQs) give practical information often asked by people who provide
immunization services and handle vaccines.
See
the FAQs and their topics»
From the Media — Mumps Outbreak Analysis and Influenza
Media Coverage
Mumps outbreak analysis
Read more about the analysis of how the mumps vaccine worked during the
2009-2010
mumps outbreak centered in New York and a series of
updates
related to influenza, including:
- Vaccine effectiveness
- Heart health
- Pregnancy and autism
- School attendance
Read
more»
On the Calendar
New this month, find:
- 2013 Vaccine Education webinar dates
- 2013 AAP Practical Pediatrics and Prep® Course dates and locations
- 2013 CDC webinar series dates
- National Infant Immunization Week and World Immunization Week dates
Check
the calendar»
On the Bookshelf: Vaccines, Sixth Edition
Charlotte A. Moser, Assistant Director, Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia
“Vaccines,” the premier text about vaccines edited by Stanley A. Plotkin, Walter A.
Orenstein and Paul A. Offit, is now available in the sixth edition. Published by Elsevier Saunders,
this new edition has 78 chapters, 1,550 pages and references for more than 20,000 scientific
papers. One of the updated features includes access to a searchable online version using a unique
activation code provided inside each copy of the book. In addition, each chapter shows only 10-12
of the most pertinent references and directs users to the online version for the complete list;
thereby saving incredible numbers of pages and keeping the hard copy version full of facts on each
page of this already thick text.
Read
more about the book»
Resources: Pertussis Resources and Influenza-Related
Resources
Pertussis resources
A series of videos featuring families affected by pertussis have been posted on the “What to
Expect” website. Although the video clips are interspersed with sponsor clips from the “Sounds of
Pertussis” campaign, the following three- to four-minute videos are worth sharing with families who
might be wondering about the severity of pertussis:
- Moving Forward After Pertussis
- The Fight for Their Baby’s Life
- A Mother’s Loss
Watch the
videos»
Group Health Cooperative also recently posted a four-minute video, “Surviving Whooping
Cough: Michelle’s Story” which features a family whose infant daughter was affected by pertussis.
Watch the
video»
Nurses Who Vaccinate blog
posted a slide related to sources of pertussis transmission that can be shared via Facebook.
Influenza-related resources
Evaluation of diagnostic tests and training for sample collection: The November 2, 2012 MMWR
published an
evaluation of
influenza diagnostic tests. The evaluation found that all tests could detect viral levels at
the highest concentration, but sensitivity decreased with dilution indicating the importance of
using good collection techniques and collecting samples at the peak of viral concentration (24-72
hours after onset of symptoms). The Joint Commission offers
web-based coursework and
videos to train personnel in appropriate testing and sample collection techniques.
Don’t forget to bookmark the CDC’s weekly influenza surveillance reports page, so as the
season gets underway, you can quickly get a handle on where influenza activity is widespread and
monitor weekly reports. You can also sign up to get weekly emails with the information:
National Influenza Immunization Week (NIIW) is December 2-8, 2012. Do you have an event planned
in your area? If so, don’t forget to add it to the
NIIW calendar. If not, consider
using the momentum of the media attention to hold your own event.
The National Influenza Vaccine Summit’s website has many additional resources; check it out
at
http://www.preventinfluenza.org/.
