News and Media Resources:

Immunization Works February 2012 Issue

News and Summaries

Recommended Immunization Schedules for Persons Aged 0 Through 18 Years: Each year, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) publishes immunization schedules for persons aged 0 through 18 years. The February 10, 2012, MMWR summarizes recommendations for currently licensed vaccines for children aged 0 through 6 years and 7 through 18 years and includes recommendations in effect as of December 23, 2011.

Vaccination providers are being advised to use all three schedules (0-6 years of age, 7-18 years of age, and catch-up) and their respective footnotes together and not separately. Links to ACIP Recommendations for further guidance on topics not covered in the footnotes can be accessed easily from electronic versions of the published schedules.

Changes to the previous schedules include the following:

• The quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV4) purple bar has been extended to reflect licensure of MCV4-D (Menactra) use in children as young as age 9 months.
• A wording change has been introduced in the hepatitis A (HepA) vaccine yellow bar; the wording now states, "Dose 1." A new yellow and purple bar has been added to reflect HepA vaccine recommendations for children aged 2 years and older.
• Guidance is provided for administration of hepatitis B (HepB) vaccine in infants with birthweights less than 2,000 grams and more than 2,000 grams. Clarification is provided for doses after administration of the birth dose of HepB vaccine.
• Rotavirus (RV) vaccine footnotes have been condensed.
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine footnotes have been condensed, and use of Hiberix for the booster (final) dose has been clarified. Guidance for use of Hib vaccine in persons aged 5 years and older in the catch-up schedule has been updated.
• Pneumococcal vaccine footnotes have been condensed.
• Guidance is provided for use of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine in infants aged 6 through 11 months. Footnotes in the catch-up schedule have been condensed.
• HepA vaccine footnotes have been updated to clarify that the second dose of HepA vaccine should be administered 6–18 months after dose 1.
• MCV4 footnotes have been updated to reflect recent recommendations published in MMWR.
• Influenza vaccine footnotes have been updated to provide guidance on live, attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) contraindications.
• Influenza vaccine footnotes also have been updated to clarify dosing for children aged 6 months through 8 years for the 2011–12 and 2012–13 seasons.
• Tdap vaccine recommendations for children aged 7 through 10 years have been updated.
• Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine footnotes have been updated to include routine recommendations for vaccination of males.
• Varicella (VAR) vaccine footnotes have been condensed.
• Inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) footnotes have been updated to include upper age limit for routine vaccination. IPV footnotes in the catch-up schedule have been condensed, and relevant wording added to the catch-up immunization schedule for persons aged 4 months through 18 years who start late or who are more than 1 month behind.
• In the catch-up immunization schedule, HepA vaccine and HepB vaccine footnotes have been removed and relevant wording has been added.
• MCV4 vaccine and corresponding footnotes have also been added to the catch-up schedule.

Various versions of the schedules are available on the immunization schedules web page.

The recommended immunization schedules for persons aged 0 through 18 years and the catch-up immunization schedule for 2012 are approved by the ACIP, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule, 2012: Each year, the ACIP reviews the recommended Adult Immunization Schedule to ensure that the schedule reflects current recommendations for the licensed vaccines. These changes were published in the February 3, 2012, MMWR and in brief, the primary changes include:

• A new footnote to links for the full ACIP vaccine recommendations and where to find additional information on specific vaccine recommendations for travelers.
• A table summarizing precautions and contraindications was added.
• Tdap and Td vaccines - footnote was updated to indicate:
  • Tdap vaccine is recommended for all persons who are close contacts of infants younger than 12 months of age (e.g., parents, grandparents, and child-care providers) and who have not received Tdap previously.
  • Tdap vaccine is recommended for pregnant women during later pregnancy (more than 20 weeks gestation).
  • Other adults who are close contacts of children younger than 12 months of age continue to be recommended to receive a one-time dose of Tdap vaccine.
• HPV vaccine - footnote was updated to include routine vaccination of males 11–12 years of age, with catch-up vaccination recommended for males 13–21 years of age. HPV vaccine is also now recommended for previously unvaccinated males 22–26 years of age who are immunocompromised, or who test positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, or who have sex with men.
• HepB vaccine - footnote updated to include the recommendation to vaccinated adults younger than 60 years old who have diabetes, as soon as possible after diabetes is diagnosed. HepB vaccine is also now recommended at the discretion of the treating clinician for adults with diabetes who are 60 years or older based on a patient’s likely need for assisted blood glucose monitoring, likelihood of acquiring hepatitis B, and likelihood of immune response to vaccination.
• Zoster vaccine – footnote now shows that the vaccine was recently approved by FDA for administration to persons 50 years of age and older; however, ACIP continues to recommend that vaccination begin at age 60 years.
• Influenza vaccine - footnote was revised to specify age indications for the different licensed formulations of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV).
• MMR vaccine - footnote was simplified to focus only on routine use of this vaccine in adults. Readers referred to ACIP MMR and health-care personnel recommendations regarding the use of MMR vaccine in outbreak settings.
• In the footnote for MCV4 and MPSV4 vaccines, information was added for specific age and risk groups.

Various versions of the schedules are available on the immunization schedules web page.

This schedule also has been presented to the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American College of Nurse- Midwives for approval and publication in their respective journals.

Adult Vaccination Coverage in 2010: Immunizations are recommended throughout life to prevent infectious diseases. Adult coverage, however, remains low for most routinely recommended vaccines and well below Healthy People 2020 targets. To assess adult (19 years of age and older) vaccination coverage for select vaccines, CDC analyzed data from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). The February 3, 2012, MMWR summarizes the results of that analysis for pneumococcal, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, herpes zoster (shingles), and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, as well as tetanus antigen–containing vaccines (including tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis vaccine [Tdap]), by selected characteristics (age, vaccination target group status, and race/ethnicity). Influenza vaccination coverage estimates for the 2010–11 influenza season have been published separately. Compared with results of the 2009 NHIS survey, increases in coverage were observed only for Tdap vaccination for persons aged 19–64 years (1.6 percentage point increase to 8.2%), zoster vaccination among persons aged 60 years and older (4.4 percentage point increase to 14.4%), and greater than 1 dose HPV vaccination in women aged 19–26 years (3.6 percentage point increase to 20.7%); coverage for the other vaccines was unchanged at less than 70%. This data indicates only limited recent improvements in vaccination coverage among adults in the United States. Substantial increases are needed to reduce the occurrence of vaccine-preventable diseases among adults.

New Hepatitis B Vaccination Recommendations for Adults with Diabetes Mellitus: Since 1996, there have been 29 outbreaks of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and assisted-living facilities; of these, 25 involved adults with diabetes. These outbreaks prompted the ACIP Hepatitis Vaccines Work Group to research and evaluate the risk for HBV infection among all adults with diagnosed diabetes. The ACIP now recommends that (1) all previously unvaccinated adults aged 19–59 years with type 1 and type 2 diabetes be vaccinated against HBV as soon as possible following diagnosis of diabetes; and (2) hepatitis B vaccination may be administered at the discretion of the treating clinician to unvaccinated adults with diabetes who are age 60 years or older. Visit the December 23, 2011, MMWR for additional information.

Influenza Information

Stay Informed! Influenza information is updated frequently. Please visit the Flu web site for the latest updates.

Meetings, Conferences and Resources

National Immunization Conference Online: The First National Immunization Conference Online (NIC Online), a virtual conference, will take place March 26-28, 2012. The conference will be entirely online and no travel is required for presenters or attendees.

Pre-registration is not available and there is no cost to participate in the NIC Online. Attendance at live workshops is limited to the first 1,000 people to log in at the start of each session. Log-in instructions will be posted at a later date.

Invited speakers will present remotely over the internet and telephone in a series of live, web-based sessions attended by up to 1,000 people. Workshops will include multiple presentations and will be one hour in length, and will be recorded. Recordings will be made available on the internet after the conclusion of the conference for on-demand viewing.

Please visit the NIC Online web page for additional information and updates.

Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases: NCIRD presented Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in December, 2011. This self-study program provides information on case investigation, outbreak control, disease reporting, and case notification for vaccine-preventable diseases. The course discusses the epidemiologically important data that should be collected during case investigations and presents methods for enhancing surveillance. The course provides current surveillance guidance for HPV, measles, rotavirus, mumps, varicella, hepatitis B, pneumococcal disease, Haemophilus influenzae, pertussis, and meningococcal disease. The course provides current surveillance guidance for HPV, measles, rotavirus, mumps, varicella, hepatitis B, pneumococcal disease, Haemophilus influenzae, pertussis, and meningococcal disease. The course is now available in web-on-demand format and DVD format. The DVD can be ordered on the NCIRD publication ordering form.

National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW): Mark your calendars: National Infant Immunization Week is April 21-28, 2012. This year, CDC will be launching new childhood immunization resources for programs and partners, highlighting Provider Resources for Vaccine Conversations with Parents, and recognizing the recipients of the inaugural CDC Childhood Immunization Champion Award. NIIW is an annual observance that highlights the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases and celebrates the achievements of immunization programs and their partners in promoting healthy communities. Since 1994, NIIW has served as a call to action for parents, caregivers, and health-care providers to ensure that infants are fully immunized against 14 vaccine-preventable diseases. For more information, visit the NIIW web page.

ACIP Meeting: The next ACIP meeting will be held February 22-23, 2012. Please visit the ACIP meeting web page for additional information.

Save the Date: The 10th National Conference on Immunization and Health Coalitions (NCIHC) will be in New Orleans on May 23-25, 2012. Please visit the NCIHC NCIHC web site for additional information.

Updated Vaccine Storage and Handling Guide: NCIRD has released the updated Vaccine Storage and Handling Guide (formerly Vaccine Management). It is a comprehensive and authoritative document on storage and handling guidelines for specific vaccines (including combination vaccines). Available in this document are guidelines on vaccine-specific shipping requirements; arrival conditions; storage requirements; and information on shelf life, preparation, and special instructions. Please visit the Vaccine Storage and Handling web page [PDF-654KB, 77 pages] for the PDF ready-to-print version.

CDC and Medscape Videos: This special series of commentaries is part of a collaboration between CDC and Medscape and is designed to deliver CDC's authoritative guidance directly to Medscape's physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health-care professionals. In this series, experts from CDC offer video commentaries on current topics important to practicing clinicians. NCIRD has contributed to a variety of commentaries.

Current Issues in Immunization NetConference: The next netconference is scheduled for March 29, 2012. The moderator will be Andrew Kroger. The topics will be the 2012 Childhood/Adolescent Immunization Schedule Update, presented by Yabo Beysolow and the 2012 Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule, presented by Raymond Strikas. Please visit the netconference web page for updates and archived netconferences.

ACP Immunization Webcasts: The American College of Physicians (ACP) invites interested providers to its series of webcasts. The most recent webcast was on February 23, 2012, and the topic was Efficient Vaccine Ordering. The next webcast will be March 3, 2013, and the topic is Applying Quality Improvement Principles to Immunization. For more information, please visit the ACP Immunization Webinar Series web site.

Immunization Publications: Please visit the NCIRD publications order form for the latest immunization publications. Copies of the 2011 Immunization Update DVD, the 2011 Parents Guide to Childhood Immunizations, the 2011 Immunization Works CD, and other items are now available for ordering.

NIVS Immunization Excellence Awards: The National Influenza Vaccine Summit (NIVS) is soliciting candidates for the 2012 NIVS Immunization Excellence Awards. The 2012 awards recognize individuals and organizations that have made extraordinary contributions towards improved adult, and/or childhood influenza vaccination rates within their communities during the 2011-2012 influenza season. National winner and honorable mention recipients will be selected for each award category. The winners will be presented with their awards at the NIVS meeting in Atlanta, Georgia on May 15-17, 2012. National winners in each category will be invited to present their programs at the NIVS meeting.

There are four categories of award recognition:

• Overall Season Activities (activities related to early season and later season).
• Health-care Personnel Campaign (community or institutional-based activities).
• Immunization Coalitions/Public Health/Community Campaign (programs conducted within states and communities that demonstrate strong public and private collaboration).
• Corporate Campaign (programs developed by communication/public relations organizations and/or supported by manufacturers, distributors, or other for-profit entities (such as multi-practice site companies).

Nominations must be received by COB March 2, 2012. Please visit the online nomination form for additional information.

CDC Job Openings: CDC is committed to recruiting and hiring qualified candidates for a wide range of immunization and other positions. Researchers, Medical Officers, Epidemiologists, and other specialist are often needed to fill positions within CDC. For a current listing, including international opportunities, please visit CDC's employment web page.

---

The Immunization Works database manager and editor can be contacted at nipimmzwrks@cdc.gov.

 Return to Immunization Works index page

• Email this page
• Printer-friendly version

• Help
• Glossary / Acronyms
• Site Map