Notices

2024 PIC Conference

2024 PIC Conference

Save the date! Join us for the Philadelphia Immunization Coalition’s Fall 2024 Conference.

Our speakers will include Dr. Andrew Kroger (CDC) and Dr. Paul Offit (CHOP), among others to be announced.

Topics covered will include COVID-19, RSV, flu, universal recommendations for
community outreach, vaccine hesitancy, PDPH updates, and more.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of Penn State College of Medicine and Philadelphia Immunization Coalition. Penn State College of Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Penn State College of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 4.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Registration will be opening mid-August, and a link will be shared in an upcoming email.

Tickets will be $40 and include breakfast, all day coffee, and a wonderful hot lunch.

Hope to see you there!

Event Details

When: Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Time: 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Where: College of Physicians at 19 South 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Reach out to angel.brice@phila.gov with any questions.

Quick Links

Join Us for a COVID-19 Product Update

Join the PDPH Immunization Program and our pharmaceutical partners for a virtual townhall regarding the 2024 – 2025 COVID-19 product update.

This informative session is for both pediatric and adult primary care providers (PCPs) who would like to learn more about the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine season and what products to expect.

Meeting details:

Date: Friday, September 13, 2024
Time: 12:00 p.m – 1:30 p.m

RSVP for the Meeting

2024 -2025 VFC & VFAAR Flu Products

2024 -2025 VFC & VFAAR Flu Products

2024-2025 VFC & VFAAR products will be available to order soon. Make sure your office is ready!

Flulaval will be available to order for your VFC-eligible patients starting Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
Start the conversation about the importance of flu vaccination with free print materials for your office. Use the button below to order.
Ensure your EHR/EMR is set up to report this year’s flu products.

Order Free Flu Materials

See below for the vaccines available this year:

VFC Products Available for the 2024 – 2025 Flu Season

*A limited supply of Flucelvax is available to order for your VFC eligible patients who have egg allergies or requests an egg-free flu vaccine.

VFAAR Products Available for the 2024 – 2025 Season

*A limited supply of Flucelvax is available to order for your VFC eligible patients who have egg allergies or requests an egg-free flu vaccine.

Visit the flu page on our website for more information on what vaccines are available this season and to get access to flu resources and free print materials.

Lunch & Learn: Respiratory Viruses

Lunch & Learn: Respiratory Viruses

Join us for an informative virtual session on respiratory viruses.

This session is for both pediatric and adult primary care physicians (PCPs) who would like to learn more about respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza (flu), COVID-19, and what to know and expect for this upcoming respiratory season.

Infectious disease expert Dr. Massya Abuali will give an educational overview of these respiratory viruses, and the VFC team will provide programmatic updates.

Meeting Details:

Date: Friday, September 6, 2024
Time: 12:00 p.m – 1:00 p.m

Register for the Meeting!

Vaccine Product Available Through VFC: Jynneos

Jynneos (Bavarian Nordic) vaccine is now available through the VFC program. It has been approved and recommended by the CDC and ACIP to prevent mpox (formerly monkeypox).

VFC-eligible patients, 18 years of age only, can be vaccinated with these doses. Patients younger than 18 are not eligible for vaccination with the mpox vaccine provided through the VFC program. Any eligible patient who feels at risk of coming into contact with mpox can be vaccinated. They do not need to meet any further eligibility criteria.

Jynneos is supplied in a 10-pack box of 1 dose vials.
NCD: 50632-0001-03
CVX: 206
CPT: 90611

To add Jynneos to the list of vaccines that your site orders, use the button below to complete a change request form.

Product Change Form

To access doses for patients not eligible for vaccine through the VFC program, reach out to our mpox coordinator, Marguerite Horton, at marguerite.horton@phila.gov.

Resources

Remind Families About Back to School Vaccines

Prepare your pediatric patients to return to school by getting them caught up with their vaccines. Access reminder recall guidance, free print materials, and more information about vaccination coverage rates below.

According to CDC, vaccination coverage among kindergarten students has declined to its lowest level in decades. There is also a global increase in measles cases and outbreaks that has impacted us locally.

Remind families about school-required vaccinations as well as HPV, COVID-19, and flu.

Reminder and Recall Strategies

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers steps to identify overdue patients including:

Decide on an age range to focus on, if it is not feasible to contact all patients.
Run an IIS query for all patients in your selected age range who are 30+ days behind on vaccination.
Run the same query in the EHR. If you are unsure whether your EHR system has this capability, check with your EHR vendor.

They also suggest strategies for reminder or recall such as:

Social media
Reminder postcards and letters that can be printed and mailed
Message reminders via patient portals

Order Free Print Materials

We offer free print materials including a vaccine coloring sheet, pediatric vaccine schedules, and a new educational brochure for adolescents.

Preview: Take Control of your Health Brochure

Use the button below to order free print materials for your office!

Order Print Materials

Return Expired Doses of Flu Today!

All VFC/VFAAR influenza vaccines supplied by the Philadelphia Immunization Program during the 2023-2024 flu season have expired. Please account for unused VFC/VFAAR flu vaccine at your site using PhilaVax:

Process a return for the unopened vials online in the Vaccine Returns module. A job aid with step-by-step instructions can be found here.
Adjust out open multi dose vials of flu. A job aid with step-by-step instructions can be found here.

Return your vaccine before July 22

Please complete these steps by July 22, 2024 to avoid delays in processing your site’s 2024-2025 flu season orders. If you have any questions or need assistance, contact DPHProviderHelp@phila.gov.

All communication about flu vaccine availability will be made via email and posted on our website. Keep an eye out for upcoming messages!

Thank you for protecting Philadelphians this past year. We look forward to working together to keep people safe from the flu next season.

2023-2024 Pfizer (5 yrs-11 yrs and 12+) COVID-19 Vaccines No Longer Available

2023-2024 Pfizer (5 yrs-11 yrs and 12+) COVID-19 Vaccines No Longer Available

As of Monday, June 10, 2024, the Pfizer 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine, 5 yrs – 11 yrs, and Comirnaty (Pfizer), 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine, 12 yrs + products are no longer available to order through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) and Bridge Access Programs.

Continue to order and administer 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccines until they reach their beyond use date (BUD), expire, or new product becomes available. We’ve seen summer peaks in past years, so individuals aged 6 months and above who have not received a dose should continue to be vaccinated.

See below for details on the availability of the different products. If your preferred product is no longer available, change to an alternate product and continue to offer and administer COVID-19 vaccine to patients.

Dosing Schedule: 2023-2024 COVID-19 Vaccine

For more details, review the CDC’s Interim 2023-2024 COVID-19 Immunization Schedule for Persons 6 Months of Age and Older.

Available Products (updated 6/10/2024): 2023-2024 COVID-19 Vaccine

Upcoming Changes in COVID-19 Vaccine Product Availability

CDC anticipates upcoming changes in the availability of COVID-19 vaccine products.

Here’s what we know now about the upcoming changes in 2023-2024 COVID-19 product availability:

The latest expiration date for the Pfizer (6 mo – 4 yrs) product is 7/31/2024.
Moderna (6 mo – 11 yrs and 12+) product has expiration dates through late September.

Be sure to check expiration dates before administering any vaccine.

Other Considerations for COVID-19 Vaccine Product Expiration

The expiration dates indicated above are the latest 2023-2024 expiry. Your office may have vaccine products that expire sooner.
The beyond use date (BUD) supersedes the manufacturer’s expiration date.

We will send additional messages to remind you about these expiration dates as they occur, provide guidance for inventory management, and inform you of other product updates as we are notified.

If you have questions about COVID-19 vaccine availability, please reach out.

For VFC, email Victor Obeck at victor.obeck@phila.gov.

For the Bridge Access Program, email Nyandra McFadden at nyandra.mcfadden@phila.gov.

Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Now Expired!

Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Now Expired!

Read on for more upcoming changes in COVID-19 product availability.

As of Friday, May 31, 2024 all doses of Novavax COVID-19 vaccine have expired.

Remove any remaining doses from your storage units at this time.
Use this guide to waste any opened vaccine. 
Use this guide to return unopened vaccine.

See below for details on the availability of different products. If your preferred product is no longer available, change to an alternate product and continue to offer and administer COVID-19 vaccine to patients.

Dosing Schedule: 2023-2024 COVID-19 Vaccine

For more details, review the CDC’s Interim 2023-2024 COVID-19 Immunization Schedule for Persons 6 Months of Age and Older.

Available Products (updated 6/3/2024): 2023-2024 COVID-19 Vaccine

Upcoming Changes in COVID-19 Vaccine Product Availability

CDC anticipates upcoming changes in the availability of COVID-19 vaccine products.

Here’s what we know now about the upcoming changes in product availability:

The latest expiration dates of the 2023-24 COVID-19 season NovaVax and Pfizer products are:
- Novavax: 5/31/2024
- Pfizer (6 mo – 4 yrs): 7/31/2024
- Pfizer (5 yrs – 11 yrs and 12+): 8/31/2024
Moderna (6 mo – 11 yrs and 12+) products have expiration dates through late September

Be sure to check expiration dates before administering any vaccine.

Other Considerations for COVID-19 Vaccine Product Expiration

The expiration dates indicated above are the latest 2023-2024 expiry. Your office may have vaccine products that expire sooner.
The beyond use date (BUD) supersedes the manufacturer’s expiration date.

We will send additional messages to remind you about these expiration dates as they occur, provide guidance for inventory management, and inform you of other product updates as we are notified.

If you have questions about COVID-19 vaccine availability, please reach out.

For VFC, email Victor Obeck at victor.obeck@phila.gov.

For the Bridge Access Program, email Nyandra McFadden at nyandra.mcfadden@phila.gov.

PhilaVax Temperature Reporting Requirement Update

Important: VFC & VFAAR orders submitted to PhilaVax without temperature data will be rejected. *

We will no longer contact VFC & VFAAR sites to request missing temperature data after the order date. VFC & VFAAR orders will be rejected, and the provider will need to resubmit their order. Remember, a new reconciliation must be completed after two business days to process the order.

Uploading temperature data to PhilaVax and emailing the data to TempCheck@phila.gov have been requirements for several years. The data you submit to the TempCheck team is analyzed for excursions and potential unit malfunctions, helping us maintain our quality control standards. The data submitted to PhilaVax facilitates timely ordering for our 200+ providers throughout the city.

These guides can assist you in submitting your DDL temperature files:

Key Takeaways:

Temperature data must be submitted to PhilaVax and emailed to TempCheck@phila.gov every 28 days and when an order is placed.
Submit temperature data up to and including the day of vaccine order.
For example, if you submit temperature data on Monday and place your order on Tuesday, you must submit temperatures again on Tuesday, or your order will be rejected.
After placing an order, it’s important to check its status within two business days. If the order is rejected, carefully review the VFC comments for instructions on resubmitting it. Remember, a new reconciliation must be completed after two business days to process the order.

For questions and assistance with ordering, reach out to DPHProviderHelp@phila.gov.

*If you are unable to upload to PhilaVax for any reason or feel your site should be exempt from this requirement, please contact TempCheck@phila.gov.