PhilaVax Closed to VFC Orders from 3/26 through 4/1

PhilaVax will be temporarily closed to new VFC orders from 12 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26, until 12 p.m. on Monday, April 1, while the vaccine prices are updated for 2024.

Any orders entered into PhilaVax IIS during this time will be deleted from the system and not processed.

If you need to place an order, submit it before 12 p.m. onTuesday, March 26. 

Normal order processing and shipping will resume at 12 p.m. on Monday, April 1.

Recommend HPV Vaccine at Every Visit! 

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

Early vaccination at age 9-10 years has several benefits, including more robust immune response and increased likelihood of completing the series.

March 4 is International HPV Awareness Day!

To help increase HPV vaccination rates back to pre-pandemic levels:

• Recommend HPV vaccine at every visit for 9-26-year-olds who have not begun or completed their series. Data shows that your recommendation may improve vaccination rates by 5 times. 
• For adults aged 26 years through 45 years, engage in shared decision making to help determine the benefits of vaccination.  
• Vaccination recommendations should be made in all healthcare settings, including acute, non-acute, GYN, dental, and pharmacy locations. 

Steps to Recommend HPV Vaccine to Hesitant Parents

Use a Presumptive Announcement Approach: 

• Your child is __ years old.
• Today, they are eligible to receive Tdap, HPV, and MCV vaccine.
• We will make sure they get all these shots to keep them safe and healthy.

If parent hesitates:

Connect and Counsel:

• What’s your main concern?
• Counsel using a research-tested method (ex.”Over 30,000 Americans get cancer from HPV every year. Most could be prevented with the HPV vaccine.”)

If parent declines:

Try Again: 

• Almost 70% of parents who initially declined later agree to HPV vaccine or plan to vaccinate soon.

Clinical Guides

Physician assistants & nurse practitioners: Action Guide

Nurses & medical assistants: Action Guide

Print Resources

PDPH postcards and posters promoting pediatric and HPV vaccine.

Online Resources

New research reinforcing starting HPV vaccination at age 9.

If you have any questions, reach out to our team at vaccines@phila.gov.

Mpox Vaccine: Presidents’ Day Reminder

The City of Philadelphia is closed on Monday, February 19, 2024, in observance of Presidents’ Day. Be sure to submit your Mpox vaccine requests by Tuesday, February 20, at 5 p.m. to account for the holiday. Regular deliveries resume on Wednesday and Thursday of that week (week of February 19). 

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

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

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

Beyfortus (Nirsevimab) Supply and Borrowing Update

The supply of nirsevimab allocated to the Vaccines For Children (VFC) program has been depleted. Therefore, no doses are available to order for the remainder of the 2023-2024 respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season.

As we approach the end of the RSV season on March 31st, we urge all VFC sites to utilize any remaining doses of nirsevimab in stock. For those with nirsevimab doses on hand, we strongly recommend immunizing all eligible infants against RSV. Previous guidance to offer nirsevimab to all infants less than eight months of age and to high-risk infants 8-19 months of age should be followed. It is no longer necessary to prioritize or reserve doses.

To ensure that as many eligible infants as possible are immunized: 

• Bidirectional borrowing of Beyfortus is permitted between now and March 31, 2024. 
• VFC-provided doses can be administered to private and CHIP-insured patients. 
• Private doses administered to VFC-eligible patients will be replaced. 
• Doses borrowed during this time will be tracked for replacement in the fall. 
• To borrow doses, reach out to Victor Obeck at victor.obeck@phila.gov. 
• This supersedes previous messaging on borrowing.

Thank you for your continued efforts to ensure the timely and effective administration of vaccines. 

For further information or questions, reach out to Victor Obeck at victor.obeck@phila.gov.

Reminder for Bridge Access Providers

Only adults 18 and over who are uninsured or underinsured are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine under the Bridge Access Program (BAP). 

Screening an individual for eligibility before giving a BAP COVID-19 dose is a requirement outlined in the provider agreement.

• Uninsured: an individual who does not have health insurance.
• Underinsured: an individual with health insurance, but the insurance does not cover the total cost of a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Any individual with health insurance that covers the total cost of a COVID-19 vaccine would be ineligible for a BAP dose. Many insurance plans will cover the cost of the COVID-19 vaccine, including Medicaid, Medicare, and some private health insurance plans.  

Notes:

• Redistribution of the COVID-19 vaccine is not permitted under the BAP. Unauthorized redistribution of Bridge doses may result in a suspension or termination from the program.
• If your practice has multiple locations, you will not be able to redistribute doses between the locations. 

Every site interested in being enrolled in the BAP must complete enrollment individually. Complete the Bridge Program Interest Form to begin the enrollment process.

Find the form using the button below:  

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

Join Us for a PCP Measles Update

Join Division of Disease Control (DDC) infectious disease experts Dr. Shara Epstein and Dr. Mayssa Abuali for a virtual measles update for primary care providers (PCPs). In a recent advisory, we encouraged pediatric providers to catch up patients on their MMR vaccination.

This informative session is for PCPs who would like to learn more about recent measles cases from physicians working in outbreak response with the Department of Public Health. 

Meeting details: 

Date: Friday, January 12, 2024

Time: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.