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National Influenza Vaccine Summit Newsletter

Issue 4 / November, 2006

NOTE: This document is provided for historical purposes only and may not reflect the most accurate and up-to-date information on this subject. For current flu information, please visit the CDC Flu Homepage.

On this page:

National Influenza Vaccination Week - November 27th to December 3rd

To help raise awareness of influenza vaccination recommendations and the importance of continuing vaccination efforts throughout November and beyond, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Influenza Vaccine Summit, partners and stakeholders will be announcing a National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) from Monday, November 27th through Sunday, December 3rd, 2006.

Although a press event will be held November 13th to announce NIVW, in order not to preempt this event, please consider the information in this email embargoed until after the event has occurred. Other national events are being planned for the actual week. Partners may use this opportunity to help plan vaccination clinics and flu vaccine promotion activities with providers, state and local health departments, mass vaccinators, retail vaccinators, and other healthcare organizations. We encourage you to foster your own creative ideas with your vaccination campaign, whether it’s working at a local level with business groups, religious groups, supermarkets, worksite employers, senior centers, or other community groups. Free materials are available for easy printing at CDC’s “flu gallery” www.cdc.gov/flu/gallery, including posters, flyers, and educational handouts. More materials specific to this event soon will be available.

Flulaval TM Licensed! Up to 115 Million total Doses Now Projected

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved FLULAVAL TM [trivalent inactivated influenza virus vaccine] for the immunization of adults 18 years and older (FLULAVAL TM is not indicated for use in children.). The approval of FLULAVAL TM is another major step towards increasing the influenza vaccine supply in the United States. GSK added FLULAVAL TM to its portfolio of flu products when it acquired the Canadian vaccine manufacturer ID Biomedical Corporation in December 2005. FLULAVAL TM is available in multi-dose vials (10 doses per vial). This vaccine is marketed in Canada under the name Fluviral ®.

Where Can Healthcare Providers Buy Vaccine? Try IVATS!

A record number of up to 115 million doses of influenza vaccine are expected for the 2006-2007 influenza season, with 62.5 million doses reported as distributed by October 27th.

Frequently throughout every vaccination season, healthcare providers and facilities ask where they can obtain influenza vaccine. With no current information available regarding who has vaccine to sell, the answer usually is to “call a distributor or manufacturer.”

To address this need, the Summit has developed the Influenza Vaccine Availability Tracking System, or IVATS. The goal of IVATS is to establish a voluntary, centralized, regularly updated national resource that health care providers can access to learn: 1) which distributors have influenza vaccine for sale; and 2) how to contact and order vaccine from these distributors. The Health Industry Distributor Association actively recruited their member distributors and Healthcare Distribution Management Association (HDMA) notified their distributor members.

Please note that all information is provided by distributors on a voluntary basis and is not intended to endorse or promote one distributor’s or manufacturer’s product over another, and all distributors are welcome and encouraged to enroll in IVATS. Also note that primary purpose of IVATS is to offer healthcare providers regularly updated vaccine availability data, not to be confused with CDC’s influenza vaccine distribution tracking system which provides confidential distribution data by zip code. The CDC distribution data is availably only to officials designated by state health departments through a secure data network.

The Summit will host on their website a spreadsheet listing participating distributors with influenza vaccine for sale. This listing will be updated with new information every other week throughout the influenza season.

Influenza vaccine distributors
If would like to learn more about IVATS, enroll, and submit your first report, please take these steps.

  1. Go to Summit website at: www.ama-assn.org/go/influenzasummit
  2. Click: The Summit’s Influenza Vaccine Availability Tracking System (IVATS).
  3. Click: For Influenza Vaccine Distributors – How do I enroll?
  4. Click: 1. Go to the Summit’s IVATS enrollment page.
  5. Scroll down to the enrollment section of this page and enter the requested information.
  6. Click red box at end of form in lower right corner: "Submit form"
  7. On next screen, click “click here to continue” to return to the enrollment page.
  8. Click IVATS bi-weekly reporting page . Scroll down, complete your first Report and click Submit in lower left corner.

Healthcare providers
If you would like to access the spreadsheet to identify distributors with influenza vaccine for sale, please take these steps.

  1. Go to Summit website at: www.ama-assn.org/go/influenzasummit
  2. Click: The Summit’s Influenza Vaccine Availability Tracking System (IVATS).
  3. Click: For Healthcare Providers – Who has influenza vaccine for sale?
  4. A spreadsheet will appear with this information.

As of October 31st, 9 distributors have enrolled and 4 have submitted their first report.

Having Issues With Or Questions About This Season's Vaccine Distribution?

To read the article on the CDC website, click on the following link.
www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/vaccination/cdcletter2006oct.htm

NFID Convenes National News Conference To Kick Off Flu Season

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) recently partnered with the National Influenza Vaccine Summit and many of the nation’s leading infectious disease experts to convene its Annual Influenza/Pneumococcal Disease News Conference to urge influenza vaccination throughout the fall and winter.

The following experts served on the panel for the news conference, held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on October 4:

Panelists reinforced there will be ample influenza vaccine supply for the 2006-2007 season, reviewed this year’s immunization recommendations and the need to vaccinate into December, January and later, and discussed the importance of pneumococcal vaccination for people 65 years of age and older and those with chronic health conditions. The event secured extensive media attendance and coverage from numerous outlets across the country, including Associated Press, Reuters, CNN Headline News, MSNBC, CBS Early Show, USA Today, Newsday, Miami Herald, American Medical News, among others nationwide.

NFID also released results of a recent national consumer survey of public perceptions about influenza vaccination and treatment, reinforcing the need for ongoing education, especially using the media to help inform Americans. Alarmingly, nearly half of respondents did not plan to be immunized against influenza this year, and many Americans did not recognize the severity of influenza for themselves and their loved ones. Almost half did not know vaccination is still beneficial into December and beyond.

An archived Web cast of the News Conference and additional resources are available for ongoing access via NFID’s Web site: www.nfid.org

HIDA Developing Code Of Responsible Business Practives For Their Vaccine Distributors

The Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA), a regular and valued partner in the Summit, is developing a voluntary Code of Responsible Business Practices for distributors of seasonal influenza vaccine.  The voluntary Code, which is part of HIDA’s Flu Vaccine Business Practices Initiative, is being developed to educate customers and relevant stakeholders and to highlight distributors’ commitment to responsible business practices. This code outlines several key tenets including: member compliance with CDC goals and guidelines, a forum to address and assess flu vaccine distribution grievances, and more. For additional information about the Code, visit www.flusupplynews.com/code.cfm. For more information on the Flu Vaccine Business Practices Initiative, visit www.flusupplynews.com/index.cfm

Free Advertising For Your Influenza Clinics

The American Lung Association (ALA) and Maxim Health Systems continue to offer their national Flu Clinic Locator for both influenza clinics and for persons seeking a vaccination.

Healthcare providers interested in advertising their clinics
Registration is required and training available to healthcare administrators interested in becoming site administrators for your influenza clinics. To start this process, you will need to sign an updated agreement designed to ensure a successful outcome. This agreement requires each administrator to: 1) keep all posted clinic information up-to-date; 2) follow CDC guidelines in managing your clinics; and 3) post only clinics that are open to the public. If your organization can commit to all three requirements, read the full Flu Clinic Locator Agreement at www.lungusa2.org/embargo/flucliniclocator/FCLAgreement0806.doc. If you wish to enroll, first print the form, fill in the blanks, sign, date, and fax to (212) 315-8870.

Persons seeking an influenza vaccination
The public may find influenza clinics in their areas by visiting the Flu Clinic Locator at www.flucliniclocator.org

AMA/AAP Immunization Initiatives Meeting Date Changed

The AAP and AMA have agreed to co-host this three-day meeting on adult and pediatric immunization which will convene in Chicago from Tuesday February 27 th through Wednesday March 1, 2007. If interested in attending, please “save these dates.”

The pediatric session will occupy the first day. A transition session will link common issues on the morning of the second day and will be followed by the adult session for the rest of the meeting.

The American Medical Association (AMA)
Adult immunization and influenza represent an important AMA strategic initiative. Four objectives have been identified for an Adult Immunization Summit:

  1. improving the valuation of adult immunization;
  2. improving the vaccine delivery infrastructure;
  3. facilitating healthcare providers to immunize adult patients; and
  4. addressing vaccine financing.

Some tangible first steps have been developed to address these objectives and achieve improvement in adult immunization coverage.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
Immunization also is a strategic priority for the AAP which recently formed a Task Force on Immunization which established the following three priorities:

  1. to increase the number of children receiving vaccines in the medical home;
  2. to stabilize the vaccine supply chain; and
  3. to improve the current vaccine finance system.

With the introduction of new vaccines that carry a considerable price tag, the Task Force feels the time is right for a Pediatric Immunization Key Stakeholder Meeting.

The Joint Meeting
As more adolescent and adult vaccines such as HPV enter the market, the traditionally separate concerns of pediatric and adult immunizations are becoming increasingly similar. The AMA and AAP believe this is an opportune time to come together, understand each other’s concerns, and define some areas of common interest for action. Thus, it has been decided to combine into one three-day event the AMA’s Adult Immunization Summit and the AAP’s Pediatric Immunization Key Stakeholder Meeting. The AAP and AMA have identified many stakeholders who have interest in both adult and pediatric immunization and hope this combined event will facilitate the stakeholders’ participation in both meetings. The uniting of these two important immunization gatherings will facilitate dialogue and exchange of ideas, concerns, etc. Additional details about the meeting (hotel, etc.) will be forthcoming in a future National Influenza Vaccine Summit Newsletter.  

2006-2007 ACIP Recommendations for Prevention and Control of Influenza

“Prevention and Control of Influenza, Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP),” MMWR July 28, 2006; 55(RR10); 1–42 www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5510a1.htm

Changes From 2005-2006 ACIP Recommendations

To view the primary changes made since the 2005-2006 recommendations, please click on the following link. www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/vaccination/primarychanges.htm

ACIP Recommendations For Healthcare Workers 

“Influenza Vaccination of Health-Care Personnel, Recommendations of the Health care Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP),” MMWR February 24, 2006 ; 55(RR02); 1–16 www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5502a1.htm

Details about this Season's Vaccine (Now Including FluLaval™)

Influenza Vaccine Manufacturers for the 2006-07 Influenza Season
Manufacturer
Vaccine
Formulation
Thimerosal preservative
Age indication
sanofi pasteur, Inc.
Fluzone®, Inactivated TIV
Multi-dose vial
Yes
> 6 months
Single-dose pre-filled 0.5 mL syringe or vial
None
> 36 months
Single-dose pre-filled 0.25 mL syringe
None
6-35 months
MedImmune Vaccines, Inc
FluMist™ LAIV
Single-dose sprayer
None
Healthy persons 5-49 years
Novartis Vaccine (formerly Chiron Corporation)
Fluvirin™
Inactivated TIV
Multi-dose vial
Yes
> 4 years
GlaxoSmithKline, Inc.
Fluarix™ Inactivated TIV
Single-dose pre-filled syringe 0.5 mL
<1µg Hg/0.5mL dose, preservative free
> 18 years
GlaxoSmithKline, Inc.
FLULAVAL™ Inactivated TIV
Multi-dose vials
Yes
> 18 years

Influenza Resources & Events

 What’s New?
This page lists all documents recently posted or updated on the CDC Flu web site, including but not limited to press releases, ACIP recommendations, and surveillance reports: www.cdc.gov/flu/whatsnew.htm

Upcoming Events
Adult/Pediatric Vaccine Summit, February 27 - March 1, 2007, Chicago, Illinois
Location and registration information will be available in a future Newsletter.

How do I subscribe to this newsletter?

  1. Send an e-mail message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.CDC.GOV
  2. Within the body of the message type the following:  SUBSCRIBE FLU-SERVE
  3. Make sure there is nothing in the subject line
  4. Make sure there is absolutely nothing else in the body of the message; this include spaces, signatures, names, address, notes , etc.
  5. You'll receive an e-mail message as a confirmation.

You will receive upcoming issues of this newsletter as well as other information or announcements pertaining to influenza and adult immunization.

How do I access previous issues of this newsletter?
Previous issues of National Influenza Vaccine Summit Newsletters are available on the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/flubulletin.htm and on the
Summit website at www.ama-assn.org/go/influenzasummit

Comments and suggestions for this newsletter?
Suggestions and comments can be sent to jrh3@cdc.gov

The National Influenza Vaccine Summit is co-sponsored by the AMA and CDC. Materials published in this Newsletter are provided by a variety of sources and should not be misconstrued to represent CDC or AMA policy unless otherwise stated.

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