COVID-19 Vaccine

Nirsevimab (Beyfortus) and COVID-19 Updates

Nirsevimab (Beyfortus) and COVID-19 Updates

Nirsevimab

Due to high demand and limited supply cited by the CDC, nirsevimab (Beyfortus) ordering through VFC has been put on hold as of October 17, 2023. The CDC is working with Sanofi to secure a supply of this immunization within the next 2 – 3 weeks.

We will provide an update when nirsevimab becomes available for ordering. Please continue to immunize eligible children with your current supply.

COVID-19

For children under 5, access to COVID-19 vaccine is currently limited as most pharmacies are not vaccinating this age group. As a provider enrolled in the Vaccines For Children (VFC) program, here’s how to ensure these kids get the vaccine they need:

Order COVID-19 vaccine through the VFC program
Borrow VFC doses of COVID-19 vaccine to immunize your privately and CHIP insured patients while you wait for COVID-19 supply from the manufacturers*

*To request a borrowing form and learn more about the guidelines of this limited-time option, contact our VFC coordinator at victor.obeck@phila.gov. We highly encourage continuing to offer COVID-19 vaccine at every opportunity.

What does commercialization mean for VFC providers?

The Department of Public Health’s federal COVID-19 program has formally ended. COVID-19 vaccines are now part of the routine immunization schedule.

With the exception of certain specialty providers, all Vaccines for Children (VFC) providers are required to stock COVID-19 vaccine inventory for both privately/CHIP insured patients and VFC eligible patients.

Learn more in this blog post that consolidates recent COVID-19 vaccine updates and lists available COVID-19 products.

Resources

Nirsevimab:

Recommendations and ordering guidance
MMWR
FDA page
Package insert
Immunization Information Statement (use this instead of VIS!)
Product and ordering information (AAP)

COVID-19:

Pfizer 2023-24 COVID-19 Vaccine

Comirnaty 12+

2023-24 COVID Vaccine 5 yrs – 11 yrs

2023-24 COVID Vaccine 6 mo – 4 yrs

Moderna 2023-24 COVID-19 Vaccine

Spikevax 12+

2023-24 COVID Vaccine 6 mo – 11 yrs

Have other questions about nirsevimab, COVID-19, or VFC? Contact our VFC coordinator at victor.obeck@phila.gov.

2023-2024 Novavax Now Available to Order

2023-2024 Novavax Now Available to Order

Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, adjuvanted (2023-2024 formula) is now available to order. 2023-2024Novavax is authorized for individuals 12 years and older.

This product package contains two multi dose vials each containing five doses. The NDC for this product is NDC # 80631-0105-02.

It can be ordered through PhilaVax following the same steps used to order all other 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine products. Vaccines for Children (VFC) and Bridge Access Program (BAP) providers can order Novavax for eligible patients.

As a reminder, your practice can now:

1) Order COVID-19 vaccine through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program

2) Order COVID-19 vaccine for privately insured adults, and

3) Enroll in the Bridge Access Program (BAP) to procure COVID-19 vaccine for uninsured or underinsured adults. BAP vaccines can only be used for uninsured and underinsured patients aged 18 and up.

When possible, VFC providers should vaccinate eligible 18-year-olds with VFC vaccine before using BAP vaccine.

This new blog post highlights important changes in this new period of COVID-19 vaccination, including:

The Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 program has formally ended.
Bivalent COVID-19 vaccines are no longer authorized for use.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) approved the use of updated (monovalent) COVID-19 vaccines.
Providers can order the updated COVID-19 vaccine for privately insured patients by directly contacting the manufacturers for each product (see below for more information).
With the exception of certain specialty providers, all Vaccines for Children (VFC) providers are required to stock COVID-19 vaccine inventory for both privately/CHIP insured patients and VFC eligible patients.
Philadelphia vaccine providers are encouraged to enroll in the Bridge Access Program to provide updated COVID-19 vaccines for uninsured or underinsured adults 18 years and older.

Read the blog post!

If you have any questions about ordering COVID-19 vaccine, contact dphproviderhelp@phila.gov.

COVID-19 Vaccine Update

COVID-19 Vaccine Update

As a reminder, the last day to order COVID-19 vaccine was Thursday 8/3. Providers who continue to have COVID-19 vaccine inventory should continue to adhere to the requirements outlined in the Provider Agreement. Read on for specific guidance regarding delivery and reporting.

Delivery

After 8/15, PDPH will no longer be delivering COVID-19 vaccine to providers.

If you have any questions or your site is at risk of running out of COVID-19 vaccine, please contact the COVID-19 Logistics and Distribution Manager at nyandra.mcfadden@phila.gov.

Reporting

COVID-19 providers who continue to have PDPH-supplied COVID-19 vaccine are required to continue reporting all data and appropriately monitoring and storing vaccine. This includes:

Reporting inventory in Vaccine Finder
Monitoring and storing COVID-19 vaccine in approved storage units
Documenting temperature readings on paper logs
Reporting temperature readings every 28 days
Completing wastage reports in PhilaVax

All data should be reported to the immunization information system (IIS), PhilaVax, no less than 72 hours after administration. If you observe a temperature excursion, contact TempCheck@phila.gov immediately.

Bridge Access Program

COVID-19 vaccine providers interested in enrolling in the Bridge Access Program to continue offering COVID-19 vaccine to uninsured or underinsured adults after commercialization should continue monitoring their email for more information on the program.

Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Shelf-Life Extension

Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Shelf-Life Extension

The FDA has approved Moderna’s request for a 3-month shelf-life extension (SLE) of all Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for under 6 years old. The relevant lot numbers are listed in the table below.

Moderna has updated their web-based Vial Expiration Checker tool to reflect the extension of the four lot numbers below. Only the lot numbers below are included in this SLE approval.

We encourage you to record these updates for management of your inventory and continue weekly monitoring of all COVID-19 vaccine expiration dates using the manufacturers’ online expiry checking tools:  

Moderna Vial Expiration Checker

Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Expiry Checker

Novavax Expiry Date Checker

Updated Moderna Expiration

Updated Moderna Expiration

All orders for COVID-19 vaccine must be placed by this Thursday, August 3.

As a reminder, this Thursday, August 3 is the last day to order COVID-19 vaccine. Sites should order enough vaccine to last through August and September. Moderna vaccine may arrive short dated, as an extension on the expiry date is expected.

Be on the lookout for an email with the updated expiration dates. You can also check Moderna’s online expiry tool below.

Moderna Expiry Tool

Updated COVID-19 Delivery Schedule

Updated COVID-19 Delivery Schedule

With commercialization of COVID-19 nearing, PDPH will be reducing our capacity to deliver partial orders of COVID-19, placed through the Monday.com order form below. In June, we will deliver orders the week of the 12th and the week of the 19th. Any orders placed later in June will not be delivered until July. In July and August, we will deliver partial orders during the 3rd full week of the month. Please see the below ordering schedule for reference.

Partial Order Form

As we move forward with this new delivery schedule, sites will need to order slightly more vaccine to have enough supply to last them up to a month between orders.

If you have questions regarding COVID-19 deliveries, please email covidproviders@phila.gov.

Vaccine Temperature Monitoring: New Paper Temperature Logs Available

To ensure that the vaccine at your site is viable when administered to patients, consistent temperature monitoring is an important part of participating in the program. Our program requires sites to maintain active and passive monitoring. The passive monitoring is recorded by the Digital Date Logger (DDL) and reported to our program regularly. The active monitoring is recorded on the paper temperature logs.

Please download and review the updated documents below:
Fridge Temperature Log (Celsius)
Fridge Temperature Log (Fahrenheit)
Freezer Temperature Log (Celsius)
Freezer Temperature Log (Fahrenheit)

Please use the new logs and review the instructions to make sure you are documenting temperatures correctly.

Paper temperature logs are a requirement for the VFC, VFAAR, and COVID-19 programs and must be kept on file for at least 3 years.

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.

Minimum Ordering Quantity Reduction

The minimum order quantity for bivalent Moderna 6mo – 5yr old (NDC 80777-0283-99) vaccine is being reduced to 20 doses per order. As a reminder, one carton of this vaccine contains 20 doses in 10 two-dose vials.Because ancillary supplies are packed well in advance of demand, they will continue to be shipped in minimum quantities to support 100 administrations per kit with this product. If you have sufficient supplies to support administration of the doses you order, we recommend opting out of receiving ancillary kits when placing orders for Moderna bivalent pediatric vaccines.

Moderna Monovalent Products Set to Expire

PDPH has some important updates to share regarding Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Moderna-10 and Moderna-5 monovalent products for individuals aged 6 and older are set to expire in early April. There will not be any additional shelf-life extensions for these products.

The Moderna 6-11 and 12+ monovalent products ordered in the next few weeks will be short-dated, with expirations in early April.

Providers will need to order monovalent vaccines produced by Pfizer (ages 6 and older) and Novavax (ages 12 and older) to begin and complete primary series for their patient populations.

PDPH will accept orders for Moderna monovalent vaccines through March 8 to support primary series vaccinations. After March 8, providers will need to order alternative vaccines from Pfizer (ages 6 and older) and Novavax (aged 12 and older) for individuals seeking monovalent, primary series vaccines.

In anticipation of the upcoming expiration of Moderna’s monovalent vaccines for people ages 6 and older, providers should be aware that depending on the date of the first Moderna dose, the same product may not be available to complete the primary series. In this case, a different COVID-19 vaccine may be administered to complete the primary series at a minimum interval of 28 days from the last COVID-19 vaccine dose.

Please read CDC guidance on interchanging COVID-19 vaccines here.

The U.S. government has an ample supply of monovalent vaccines produced by Pfizer (ages 6 and older) and Novavax (ages 12 and older) to begin and complete their primary series.

In summary:

All Moderna adult (12+) and pediatric (6-11) monovalent COVID-19 vaccines will reach their expiry in early April.
Moderna is not seeking a shelf-life extension for these vaccines.
Ordering for Moderna adult (12+) and pediatric (6-11) monovalent COVID-19 vaccines will end on March 8.
Ordering for Moderna bivalent vaccines for all age groups will remain available.
Pfizer (12+ and 5-11) and Novavax (12+) monovalent vaccines remain available for ordering for primary series vaccination. There is ample supply of both products, and providers can order additional supply.