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Pediatric Immunization Techniques Training

Wednesday, May 3, 2023, from 8:30 am – 12:00 pm
**Please arrive 15 minutes early. Late arrivals will not be able to attend.** The Immunization Program is hosting a FREE Pediatric Immunization Techniques training this spring. Class participants are limited and will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. A maximum of 20 participants will be accepted. Participants can only attend one training per year.This half-day, interactive education session will focus on the basics of vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine types, the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program and requirements, and pediatric immunization administration techniques.We encourage attendance by Nurses and Medical Assistants who administer vaccines or who will be administering vaccines to pediatric patients in the future. This course is beneficial to new practitioners as well as seasoned practitioners who need a refresher course or would like an update on best practices for administering vaccines.We hope to see you there!

Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccine

CDC has updated the Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Authorized in the United States to reflect the following changes in the mRNA COVID-19 vaccination schedule:

At the time of initial vaccination, depending on vaccine product, children ages 6 months–4 years are recommended to receive 2 or 3 bivalent mRNA vaccine doses; children age 5 years are recommended to receive 1 or 2 bivalent mRNA vaccine doses.
People ages 6 years and older who are unvaccinated or previously received only monovalent vaccine doses are recommended to receive 1 bivalent mRNA vaccine dose.
People ages 65 years and older may receive 1 additional bivalent mRNA vaccine dose.

Updated clinical guidance for individuals who are immunocompromised will be shared as soon as possible.

COVID-19 Bivalent mRNA Vaccine Authorized for Primary Use

CDC has taken steps to simplify COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and allow more flexibility for people at higher risk who want the option to receive an additional COVID-19 vaccine dose. COVID-19 monovalent vaccines are no longer authorized for use.

These changes include:

An additional updated (bivalent) vaccine dose for adults ages 65 years and older and additional doses for people who are immunocompromised.
- Individuals ages 6 years and older who have already received a bivalent mRNA vaccine booster do not need to take any action unless they are 65 years or older or immunocompromised.
CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 years and older receive a bivalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, regardless of whether they previously completed their primary series.
- For young children, multiple doses continue to be recommended and will vary by age, vaccine, and which vaccines were previously received.
Original monovalent COVID-19 vaccine is no longer authorized for use. Moving forward, bivalent mRNA vaccine is approved for the primary series.

What to do About Monovalent Waste

Monovalent vaccines in inventory and expired ancillary kits should be wasted. All wasted vaccine must be reported to PhilaVax, removed from your inventory, disposed of properly, and removed from Vaccine Finder. View the PDPH wastage guide.

The PDPH Immunization Program will share updated guidance next week when published by CDC.

Coming Soon: Discontinuation of All Monovalent COVID Vaccine Products

FDA is expected to put out a HARD STOP on all monovalent Moderna and Pfzier mRNA products either this Friday (4.14.2023) or Monday (4.17.2023). Though monovalent products are still active for ordering, all Moderna or Pfizer Monovalent orders submitting this week will be rejected. Sites will be contacted to see if they want to switch to a bivalent product to complete these orders.

Bivalent products will be approved for primary and booster doses. ACIP will also approve a new bivalent schedule for 65yrs+ and immunocompromised individuals. Please look out for this information soon.

Adolescent Immunization Action Week is Here!

April 3 to April 7, 2023

Vaccination helps prevent adolescents and young adults from getting sick and missing out on activities that are important to them. Help keep adolescents up to date on their immunizations against potentially life-threatening diseases like meningitis, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, HPV-related cancers, COVID-19, and flu.

View Adolescent Immunization Resources from CDC

Novavax 10 Dose Vials Unavailable to Order After 4/5/2023

April 5 will be the last date to order 10 dose vials of Novavax. These doses will be short-dated, with an expiration date of 4/30/23. After 4/30, please discard all Novavax doses.

To maintain a non-mRNA vaccine option on site, 5 dose vials of Novavax will be available to order starting the week of 4/10/23, with a minimum ordering quantity of 100 doses.

Increasing HPV Vaccine Uptake for All Ages

Increasing HPV Vaccine Uptake for All Ages

Increasing human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates can be tricky, particularly due to the stigma associated with sexual behavior among adolescents. International HPV awareness day was March 4, and served as a reminder to continue local HPV vaccine promotion efforts.

Nationally, HPV is estimated to cause 36,000 new cases of cancer each year. We have an opportunity to eradicate HPV-associated cancers, and yet too many people are not getting a safe and effective vaccine that prevents six different cancers associated with HPV including oral pharyngeal and cervical cancer.

The HPV vaccine is approved for ages 9 years through 45 years. The American Cancer Society and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend vaccination at age 9.

Are We Making Progress?

Healthy People 2030 vaccination objective IID-08 aims to increase the proportion of adolescents who receive recommended doses of the HPV vaccine. This objective is measured by tracking the proportion of adolescents aged 13–15 years receiving 2 or 3 doses of HPV vaccine.

The objective’s target is 80%, and the latest national data indicate that 54.5% of adolescents have received the recommended doses. This is a slight improvement from previous years, but there is still progress to be made to achieve the desired target.

Strategies for Increasing Vaccination Uptake

Receiving a health provider recommendation for the HPV vaccine is the most effective strategy for improving vaccination rates. However, barriers such as parental hesitancy (for adolescents), insufficient provider recommendation, and time constraints can inhibit HPV vaccine uptake.

Here are some tools and resources to boost HPV vaccine uptake in your practice:

Administrative processes:

Set your electronic health record and pharmacy notifications for patients aged 9 years through 45 years. Starting at age 9 has been shown to increase vaccine completion by 22 times.
Review your patients who have not completed their 2 or 3 dose series and proactively recall patients to complete the series. Check adult patients through age 45 to ensure they have started and completed their HPV series.
If you are not able to stock vaccine at your facility, leverage your local pharmacy to administer vaccinations to patients.
Implement standing orders for immunization in your practice.
Identify an immunization champion at your facility – the person who will take the lead of your standing orders program.

Clinical encounters:

Make a strong recommendation for HPV vaccines for all patients aged 9 years through 45 years. Data shows that your recommendation may improve vaccination rates by up to 5 times.
For adults aged 26 years through 45 years, engage in shared decision making to help determine whether the patient will benefit from vaccination. A vaccination recommendation should be made in all healthcare settings to include acute, non-acute, GYN, dental, and pharmacy locations.
Encourage same day vaccination in your facility.

This toolkit from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has patient-focused materials (social media graphics, videos, and articles) which can promote awareness of the HPV vaccine. Additionally, this AAP resource contains professional resources and printable PDFs to promote HPV vaccine education.

PhilaVax Closed to Orders from 3/29 through 4/4

PhilaVax will be temporarily closed to new VFC/VFAAR orders from 12PM on Wednesday, March 29, until 9AM on Tuesday, April 4, while the vaccine prices are updated for 2023.During this time, any orders entered into PhilaVax IIS will be deleted from the system and not processed.If you need to a place an order, submit it before 12 PM on Wednesday, March 29. Normal order processing and shipping will resume at 9 AM on Tuesday, April 4.

Ukrainian Refugee Engagement Survey

The PDPH Immunization Program is interested in engaging further with providers who see patients that identify as Ukrainian refugees. Please provide answers to the below questions to the best of your ability, as it applies to your practice.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, contact aleah.mckenzie@phila.gov, veronica.alvarez@phila.gov, or thang.song@phila.gov.

Ukrainian Refugee Engagement Survey

Updated COVID-19 Booster Eligibility for Children 6 Months – 4 Years

CDC expanded its recommendation to allow children ages 6 months through 4 years who previously completed the full 3-dose monovalent Pfizer COVID-19 primary vaccination series to now receive a booster dose of Pfizer’s updated bivalent COVID-19 vaccine. This update only applies to the children who have completed the Pfizer monovalent 3-dose primary series.

The vast majority of children in this age group have not received any doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and the update means all children in this age group are eligible to receive an updated vaccine, either through completion of their primary series or through a booster dose.