Pearls Winter 2023
| Dane County Immunization Coalition Updates General Membership Meeting Mark your calendars! Our next general membership meeting will be held on virtually on Tuesday, February 21, 2023 from 12pm to 1:30pm. Watch your email in the coming weeks for the agenda which will have the Zoom link.And for those of you who like to plan ahead, the next membership meetings will be held from 12pm to 1:30pm on Tuesday, May 16, Tuesday, August 15, and Tuesday, November 21. Grand Rounds 2022 We are grateful to Dr. Dawd Siraj, infectious disease professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for his presentation called “Monkeypox Outbreak: The Next Pandemic or a False Alarm?” The recording of the presentation from December can be found here. Save the Date for Immunize Wisconsin Spring Conference Immunize Wisconsin is hosting a spring conference on May 18 and 19, 2023 in Wausau. Registration opens on January 26! Immunization Updates Most Vaccines Are Now Covered Under Medicare As of January 1, 2023, Medicare completely covers all routinely recommended vaccines, including those that help prevent shingles, whooping cough, and pneumococcal diseases. These vaccines are covered at no charge to the patient through the Medicare Part D program and available at pharmacies.Seniors participating in Wisconsin’s Seniorcare program for prescription medications can also get recommended vaccines at no additional charge at pharmacies.Adults receiving Medicaid benefits (ForwardHealth, Badgercare) will have all routine vaccines covered beginning October 1, 2023. Bivalent COVID Vaccines Now Approved for Patients 6 months and olderThe Pfizer BIVALENT vaccine has a maroon cap and looks similar to the primary series vials. The BIVALENT version is to be used for the third dose in the series for children 6 months through 4 years old. For this age group, the first two doses are with the ORIGINAL formulation and the third dose is with the BIVALENT formulation. For children in this age group who have already had 3 doses of the primary series, there is no additional booster recommended at this time.Moderna has released a new formulation with a different injection volume and number of doses per vial for the bivalent booster for children 6 months through 5 years (note the age difference between Pfizer and Moderna products). This BIVALENT booster has a magenta cap and a yellow label and is given as a 0.2 ml dose. Each vial has 0.4 ml in it, so each vial has just 2 doses. This is different from previous Moderna products, which had injection volumes of either 0.25 ml or 0.5mg and 5 or 10 doses per vial. ALSO, the shelf life of this formulation after first puncture is just 8 hours instead of 12 hours like the other Moderna products.For children who have received 2 doses of the ORIGINAL Moderna formulation, they are eligible for a BIVALENT booster 2 months after their second dose. For children who have received 1 dose of the ORIGINAL Moderna formulation, they would get a second dose of the ORIGINAL Moderna formulation 4 to 8 weeks after the first dose. They are eligible for a BIVALENT booster 2 months after their second dose of the ORIGINAL formulation. Check the CDC website for the latest information on COVID vaccines. FDA Approves Rotarix Liquid Formulation A new live, oral rotavirus vaccine has been licensed. This new formulation is free of porcine circovirus (PCV) and does not require any dilution or mixing. Both the lyophilized (requires reconstitution) and liquid rotavirus vaccine presentations will remain in use until the lyophilized formulation is used up or expires. Health Equity National Minority Quality Forum Shared Webinar on Community Pharmacist Ambassador Program The National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) hosted a webinar titled “Community-Building Pharmacists Bringing Health to Your Neighborhood” that discussed pharmacists working to increase health equity and providing health education, including information about preventing COVID and flu through vaccination, in communities of color.Vaccinate For AllThe National Hispanic Medical Association started the Vaccinate For All campaign to increase and vaccination in Hispanic and Latino communities. They have created a toolkit to help reduce barriers to care these communities face, including healthcare access, immigration and legal documentation, low health literacy, discrimination, and targeted disinformation. Promoting Immunization Vaccine Confidence Training and Tool Kit (FREE CE!) The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is offering a new training to help providers build COVID-19 vaccine confidence in patients. This six-part online training discusses the importance of vaccine confidence and how to apply these methods in practice.“Let’s RISE” Initiative From CDC Aims to Get Routine Vaccinations Back on TrackCDC launched the Let’s RISE (Routine Immunizations on Schedule for Everyone) campaign to provide practical strategies, resources, and data to support getting all Americans back on schedule with their routine immunizations to protect everyone from vaccine-preventable disease. The campaign features calls to action, resources for healthcare professionals and partners, patient education talking points and visual aids, and data for action. In the Media Who Determines Vaccine Requirements for Schools? USA Today published an article about the vaccine requirements in public schools. Social media users claimed that the CDC was able to vote to make certain vaccines mandatory in public school, but this is false. The CDC can only make recommendations on vaccines. The states can put these mandates in to place. |