News and Media Resources:

Immunization Works June 2012 Issue

News and Summaries

Licensure of 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine for Adults Aged 50 Years and Older: In 2010, 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13 [Prevnar 13, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of Pfizer, Inc.]) was licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for children aged 6 weeks through 71 months for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) caused by the 13 pneumococcal serotypes included in the vaccine. PCV13 currently is recommended as a 4-dose series for children starting at age 2 months. On December 30, 2011, FDA approved PCV13 for prevention of pneumonia and invasive disease caused by PCV13 serotypes among adults aged 50 years and older. The June 1, 2012 MMWR summarizes data on the immunogenicity and safety of PCV13 in adults and outlines key additional evidence requested by ACIP to formulate recommendations for its use.

Influenza Information

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

Influenza Activity Update for the 2011-12 Season in the United States and Composition of the 2012-13 Influenza Vaccine: During the 2011–12 influenza season in the United States, influenza activity occurred at low levels during October through December and increased in January and February before peaking in mid-March. Influenza A (H3N2) viruses predominated overall, but influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 (pH1N1) and influenza B viruses also circulated widely. This influenza season was mild compared with recent years, with a lower percentage of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI), lower rates of hospitalizations, and fewer deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza. The June 8, 2012 MMWR summarizes influenza activity in the United States during the 2011–12 influenza season (October 2, 2011–May 19, 2012) and reports the recommendations for the components of the 2012–13 Northern Hemisphere influenza vaccine.

Meetings, Conferences and Resources

Resources from the Vaccines for Preteens and Teens Campaign: In the new 30-second Spanish language television PSA, a busy Hispanic mother receives a call from her doctor reminding her to get her adolescent son and daughter caught up on their shots. Please visit the Preteen and Teen Campaign web page to view this PSA and the accompanying English PSA.

New plain-language fact sheets provide detailed information about each of the routinely recommended adolescent vaccines, including Tdap, meningococcal vaccine, the HPV vaccine, and the seasonal influenza vaccine. There is also a new fact sheet summarizing all of the vaccine recommendations for adolescents. Spanish versions will be coming soon, so please check back with the website.

Health-care providers will find this new fact sheet [PDF-375 KB, 4 pages] full of useful information about adolescent vaccine recommendations, side effects, and contraindications. It also includes tips for ensuring that their adolescent patients are fully vaccinated. CDC has also created a new reminder/recall e-card that providers can send to parents of adolescents.

An updated matte article explains the latest HPV vaccine recommendations for girls and boys. It is approximately 450 words, and can be placed directly into your newsletters or posted on your website.

Pneumonia Podcast: A newly available pneumonia podcast explains what pneumonia is, its symptoms, and how to prevent it. This podcast was recorded by Kathleen Dooling and created by multiple divisions across NCIRD, including DBD, DVD, and ID.

Meningococcal Podcast: As part of the Emerging Infectious Diseases series, Leonard Mayer (DBD/MVPDB) recorded a meningococcal podcast discussing invasive meningococcal disease.

Pneumococcal Podcast: George Nelson, a former EIS Officer with DBD/RDB, recorded the Emerging Infectious Diseases series pneumococcal podcast discussing the relationship between pneumococcal pneumonia and Pandemic H1N1.

Pertussis Continuing Education Course: Coughing up the Facts on Pertussis – Emerging Trends and Vaccine Recommendations was offered on May 30, 2012 as a Current Issues in Immunization NetConference. Stacey Martin (DBD/MVPDB) was the speaker and Andrew Kroger (ISD/EIPB) was the moderator.

World Meningitis Day Twitter Chat: On April 24, NCIRD joined ABC News’ senior health and medical editor Dr. Rich Besser for a live Twitter chat. During the chat – which coincided with World Meningitis Day – DBD answered questions about meningitis and meningococcal vaccine hot topics. Many partners joined in this conversation, which typically results in more than 4.5 million impressions.

New Meningococcal Disease and Meningitis Websites: New websites have been launched for meningococcal disease and meningitis. These user-friendly websites provide a better experience for those seeking information about either topic.

ACIP Meeting: The ACIP meeting was just held on June 20-21, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia and updates are not yet available. Please visit the ACIP meeting web page for archived presentation slides, meeting minutes, and additional information.

Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases 2012, Eleven-Session Series: This comprehensive immunization course provides the most current information in the constantly changing field of immunization. The course is updated annually to provide the latest recommendations from the ACIP. The course is now available in web-on-demand format and the DVD format will be available in late June. Each of the 11 sessions are 60 to 90 minutes in length and includes case studies and a discussion of frequently-asked questions on each topic.

Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Course: 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 is now available in web-on-demand format and DVD format. The DVD can be ordered on the NCIRD publication ordering form.

Vaccine Storage and Handling Guide: NCIRD has released the updated Vaccine Storage and Handling Guide [PDF-718 KB, 77 pages] (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.

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 the current topics important to practicing clinicians. NCIRD has contributed to a variety of commentaries.

Immunization Publications: Please visit the NCIRD publications order form for the latest immunization publications. Copies of the 2011 Surveillance of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases DVD, the 2011 Parents Guide to Childhood Immunizations, and currentflu campaign materials are available for ordering.

Updated Pink Book Now Available to Order or Download: The 12th edition (2nd printing) of Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (The Pink Book) is now available for purchase or download. The book provides health-care professionals with comprehensive information on vaccine-preventable diseases. The Pink Book can be downloaded for free from the NCIRD Vaccines and Immunizations web page or it can be purchased from the Public Health Foundation. The Pink Book is also available in E-reader format from Amazon.com, Google E-books, and Barnes and Noble.

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 specialists 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