Vaccine Resources: Vaccine Shortages, Travel Notices, Refugee Resources, and NIAM Podcasts
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Vaccine Update for Healthcare ProvidersVaccine shortages
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated guidance related to Td and hepatitis B vaccine supply issues:
- Td — shipping delays are expected during August and the first half of September due to higher than expected demand in recent months. Read more about how to approach vaccination during the period of shortage.
- Hepatitis B — Merck announced that it will not be distributing adult hepatitis B vaccine through the end of 2018 and also anticipates a shortage of their pediatric doses between August 2017 and early 2018. GSK is anticipated to be able to fill the gap, and Merck’s dialysis formulation is also not affected.
Travel notices
The CDC recently updated several travel notices:
- Level 2 precautions encourage practicing enhanced protective measures and considering a delay in travel for high-risk individuals. New* level 2 alerts involve the following diseases and locations:
- Malaria — Cape Verde
- Rabies — Malaysia
- Zika — various countries and locations; check the online map
- Yellow fever — Brazil
- Polio — Nigeria, Syria and Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Nontuberculous mycobacteria — Dominican Republic
- Level 1 precautions remind travelers to these areas to follow usual precautions because risks may be slightly greater than usual. New* level 1 alerts involve the following diseases and locations:
- Cholera — Yemen
- Dengue — Sri Lanka
- Measles — France and Democratic Republic of the Congo. The CDC also recently issued a press release to remind all travelers to Europe to be up to date on their measles vaccinations due to ongoing transmission during 2017. Between January 2016 and mid-July 2017, more than 14,000 cases of measles had been reported throughout Europe. So far this year, cases have occurred in at least 15 countries in Europe.
*For purposes of this article, new alerts represent those posted during July or August 2017. For the most up-to-date travel notices, visit the travel alert page or register for the CDC’s free alert service and choose to get travel alerts.
Refugee resources
The Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition recently released a refugee immunization hub for providers. Although some of the information is specific to Colorado, other parts of the site may be helpful to providers throughout the country who see families of refugees.
Podcasts for the public
Voices for Vaccines (VFV) is celebrating National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) by publishing podcast interviews with experts each week during August. The podcasts relate to weekly NIAM themes:
- Babies and young children — VFV podcast, “NIAM 17, Baby!”
- Pregnant women — VFV podcast “Pregnancy and Vaccines with Dr. Flor Munoz”
- Adults — VFV podcast “Vaccines aren’t just for kids!”
- Preteen/Teen — VFV podcast “Remembering Kimberly; Teens and Vaccines”
Categories: Vaccine Update Resources, Vaccine Update August 2017
Materials in this section are updated as new information and vaccines become available. The Vaccine Education Center staff regularly reviews materials for accuracy.
You should not consider the information in this site to be specific, professional medical advice for your personal health or for your family's personal health. You should not use it to replace any relationship with a physician or other qualified healthcare professional. For medical concerns, including decisions about vaccinations, medications and other treatments, you should always consult your physician or, in serious cases, seek immediate assistance from emergency personnel.