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Author: Rishi Sharma

Register for the SexMed Conference!

Register for the SexMed Conference!

Join this free, in-person conference designed for healthcare providers and care teams seeking best practices, protocols, and skills in proactive, patient-centered sexual healthcare for all Philadelphians. The conference will take place on Friday, May 3, 2024 in Center City, Philadelphia. 

Register for the conference!

Conference Details

Fee

There is no fee for this event, but registration is required. Includes breakfast, lunch, and free continuing education credits:

  • CME
  • CNE/Nursing Professional Development
  • LSW, LCSW, LPC, LMFT/Social Work

Audience

For providers and front-facing staff in medical environments.

Date

Friday, May 3, 2024

Time

7:30 a.m. — Registration Opens
8:00 a.m. — Breakfast and Opening Plenary
9:00 a.m. — Morning Breakout Sessions
12:00 p.m. — Lunch Plenary
1:30 p.m. — Afternoon Breakout Sessions
4:30 p.m. — Rooftop Mixer Event (Presented by UPENN Eidos)

Location

The Doubletree by Hilton Hotel – Philadelphia Center City
237 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Content

Sessions cover topics including HIV, mpox, and STI testing, medications to prevent HIV infection, linkage to care, harm reduction messages, patient experience, and communication skills. Elevate your expertise in sexual healthcare at SexMed.

Detailed program will be featured on the event website.

Updated CDC Guidance for Community Settings

Updated CDC Guidance for Community Settings

Earlier this week, the CDC updated the respiratory virus guidance and suggested additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for those aged 65 and older. 

The recommendations in this guidance may help reduce spread of respiratory illness such as RSV, influenza, and others.

  • People in community settings with respiratory symptoms should stay home until symptoms improve and they are fever-free for 24 hours and take transmission-based precautions for five days after leaving home.
  • People aged 65 years and older currently make up the majority (70%) of those hospitalized with COVID-19. They are now eligible for an additional dose of vaccine, provided it has been at least four months since the last dose. 
  • Individuals of all ages should receive at least one dose of the updated COVID-19 vaccine this season. 

This recommendation provides specific guidance for non-healthcare congregate settings, such as confinement facilities and shelters. Isolation and exposure recommendations for healthcare settings, including acute, post-acute, and outpatient settings have not changed.    

For any questions, email vaccines@phila.gov. 

Lunch & Learn: Injection Safety Best Practices

Lunch & Learn: Injection Safety Best Practices

Join us for an informative, virtual session on Friday, February 2, 2024 from 12 to 1 p.m. This session is for outpatient providers.

The Immunization Program is partnering with the Healthcare Associated Infections/Antimicrobial Resistance (HAI/AR) Program within the Division of Disease Control for this lunch & learn session entitled Give Your Best Shot: Injection Safety Best Practices for Infection and Injury Prevention.

Session Information:

Title: Give Your Best Shot: Injection Safety Best Practices for Infection and Injury Prevention

Summary: Infection control lunch & learn with a focus on injection safety

Invitees: Outpatient providers and direct care staff

Speakers: 

  • Charlotte Gallagher, BSN, RN, infection preventionist
  • Mayssa Abuali, MD, pediatric infectious diseases specialist

Agenda:

  • Presentation: “Give Your Best Shot: Injection Safety Best Practices for Infection and Injury Prevention”
  • Presentation: “Respiratory Viral Activity and Immunization Update” by Dr. Mayssa Abuali
  • Resources: PDPH infection prevention and control resources and services for outpatient clinics

Time: Friday, February 2, 2024, 12 – 1 p.m.

Location: Zoom

Register for the Meeting!

COVID-19 Vaccine Returns

COVID-19 Vaccine Returns

Unopened vaccines should be returned when:

  •  The manufacturer expiration date has passed.
  •  The vaccines are no longer viable due to out-of-range temperatures.
  •  The vaccine has passed its beyond-use-date (BUD).

When returning COVID-19 vaccines that have passed their beyond-use-date,
remember to select Other as the return reason and include “Past BUD [insert the
BUD date]” in the comments section.*

Process a return for expired or non-viable vaccines in PhilaVax. Use this guide to assist you in the return process.

*New BUD labels are available for order. View this recent advisory for the ordering page and BUD label instructions.  

Reminders

When to waste vaccine:

  • Opened non-viable vaccines should be wasted out of inventory in
    PhilaVax. Use this guide to assist you in the wastage process.
  • Wasted vaccines include:
    • Open multi-dose vials where not all doses have been administered.
    • Broken vials/syringes.
    • Vaccine drawn up into a syringe but not administered.

Mpox Vaccine: MLK Day Reminder

Mpox Vaccine: MLK Day Reminder

The City of Philadelphia is closed on January 15, 2024 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Be sure to submit your mpox vaccine requests by Tuesday, January 16 at 5 p.m. to account for the holiday. Normal deliveries resume on Wednesday and Thursday of that week (week of January 15).

Remember to submit your temperatures to tempcheck@phila.gov and complete a reconciliation of vaccine on hand for your order to be approved.

Click the button below to submit your order for mpox vaccine.

If you have any questions, please contact Marguerite Horton at marguerite.horton@phila.gov.

Order mpox vaccine

Catch Up Pediatric Patients: MMR Vaccine

Catch Up Pediatric Patients: MMR Vaccine

There is a measles cluster in Philadelphia that started with an infant and spread to unvaccinated individuals. It has resulted in now 7 confirmed cases of measles among Philadelphia residents and an index case in Delaware county.

To prevent further spread, review your pediatric patients’ records for MMR vaccine and recall any patients who are not up to date. Consider nurse-only visits to get patients in faster. 

Measles is highly infectious and can be especially dangerous to children under 5, pregnant people, and immunocompromised individuals. CDC recommends children get their first MMR dose at 12-15 months and the second dose at 4-6 years. 

You can order a free measles flyer below.

Order a measles flyer!

New Beyond Use Date (BUD) Labels to Order

New Beyond Use Date (BUD) Labels to Order

New Beyond Use Date (BUD) labels are available for order. BUD labels can support your practice in ensuring vaccine is not used past expiration. These labels replace previous BUD labels intended for use with COVID-19 vaccine, and can be used for any adult or pediatric vaccine. Below is a preview:

These BUD labels are available to order for free below. Also, view and print the instruction sheet below for support in correctly using these new labels. If you have any questions, contact TempCheck@phila.gov.

Order BUD labels

Print BUD label instructions

Vaccine Product Available Through VFC: Abrysvo

Vaccine Product Available Through VFC: Abrysvo

Abrysvo is a maternal RSV vaccine available through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. 

RSV is surging and the pediatric infant immunization Beyfortus supply is severely limited. Abrysvo will play an important role in protecting infants against severe RSV disease this season. Most infants born to mothers who have received Abrysvo will not need to receive Beyfortus. 

Please note that the availability of Abrysvo for VFC providers is limited. Only sites that care for pregnant people under 19 can order, and orders will be limited to 5 doses per site at a time.

Abrysvo

Abrysvo is a Pfizer product now available through the Vaccines Children (VFC) program.

  • CVX code: 305
  • CPT code: 90678
  • NDC number: 00069-0344-01

V-safe, one of several systems CDC uses to closely monitor the safety of vaccines, will be used as a health check for pregnant people who receive a maternal RSV vaccine.

For more information, review the package insert.

Additional resources:

FDA page
VIS

If you have any questions, please email vaccines@phila.gov.

Administration Errors: RSV for Infants

Administration Errors: RSV for Infants

On November 30, CDC alerted immunization programs that they have received reports of infants being mistakenly administered RSV vaccines intended for adults. Infants should only receive the RSV preventive antibody, nirsevimab (Beyfortus, Sanofi).

RSV vaccines (Arexvy by GSK and Abrysvo by Pfizer) are recommended only for adults and have not been evaluated for safety or effectiveness in infants or children. Practices that carry both adult RSV vaccine and pediatric RSV preventive antibody products should review their immunization administration safety procedures to ensure only the correct product is administered to recipients. This is an opportunity to re-educate and re-train staff on RSV immunization formulations and practices.

In the event that a vaccine administration involving RSV vaccine occurs, CDC encourages vaccinators to promptly report errors to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Also, inform parents of error so that these infants can receive the correct product and be monitored for adverse reactions. 

CDC Clinical Guidance (updated December 7, 2023)

Because there are no data on the efficacy/effectiveness of RSV vaccines in preventing RSV disease in this age group, the infant should receive nirsevimab if otherwise eligible based on maternal RSV vaccination status. There is no specific recommendation for a minimum interval between administration of incorrect RSV vaccine and nirsevimab. Some experts suggest:

• That it could be reasonable to consider waiting 48 to 72 hours before proceeding with nirsevimab administration. This time frame is when we would expect side effects to the RSV vaccine, such as fussiness, would be most likely.

• Consideration should be given to administering nirsevimab in the limb opposite to where the RSV vaccine was administered to avoid potential interaction or binding of RSV antibody and vaccine, thereby reducing the effectiveness of nirsevimab.

If further clinical guidance is needed, connect with our medical experts at vaccines@phila.gov or CDC experts at NIPINFO@cdc.gov.

Holiday Season Storage and Handling Reminder

Holiday Season Storage and Handling Reminder

Ensure your vaccines stay properly monitored over the holiday season!

The Digital Data Loggers (DDLs) provided by PDPH have limited storage space and stop recording temperatures when full. If you are using one of these DDLs, please download your DDL files before the holidays if your office will close or you have limited availability. This may mean downloading your DDLs earlier than usual to ensure they continue recording temperature readings for your storage units into the new year. 

If your office will be closed for an extended time, you can reach out to our team to discuss temporarily storing your vaccine at our office for safekeeping. 

As a reminder, when sending in your data, please always: 

1) Email both your LTD (yellow and blue) and CSV (green) files to TempCheck@phila.gov

2) Upload your CSV files into the Clinic Tools module in PhilaVax 

If you need assistance or have additional questions, please get in touch with our Storage and Handling team at TempCheck@phila.gov.