Are You that Guy? Campaign Helps Kids Say "No!" to Spreading the Flu
The Are You That Guy? influenza awareness campaign by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) focuses on educating parents and children about flu prevention, symptoms, and treatment. The campaign calls attention to "That Guy" - a person who despite experiencing flu symptoms, continues to go about his/her daily activities and as a consequence, may inadvertently spread the virus to others.

To help parents educate their children about the flu, NFID developed a coloring book that teaches children about flu symptoms and good habits that may help prevent flu from spreading.

Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) Video
A new video on an "Overview of VAERS" is now available on "CDC Streaming Health" that gives more information on who should report an adverse event following immunization and how. This video is also designed to give healthcare professionals an understanding of how rare adverse events following immunization can be detected through vaccine safety monitoring.

10th Annual Ready or Not? Report
The 10th annual Ready or Not? report includes two indicators around vaccine issues - Medicaid coverage of flu vaccine without cost sharing and pertussis vaccination rates for 19-35 month olds.

CDC Published ACIP Recommendations
On December 6, 2012, CDC posted ACIP Provisional Updated Recommendations on Use of Tetanus Toxoid, Reduced Diphtheria Toxoid and Acellular Pertussis Vaccine (Tdap) for Pregnant Women and Provisional Recommendations Prevention of Measles, Rubella, Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS), and Mumps on its website.

Resources for Safe Patient Injections
The CDC and Safe Injection Practices Coalition recently released new materials for healthcare providers to learn about safe injection practices. Resources include a "Bloodborne Pathogen + Safe Patient Injections Training" presentation, a "How to Do It Right" animated video, a poster and brochure demonstrating proper use of insulin pens, and a digital press kit with an infographic, a podcast, fact sheets, and media information. To view more information about these resources, visit NACCHO's IDPC webpage and look under the "In the Spotlight" box.

2013 Public Health Preparedness Summit: Infectious Disease Sessions

Join NACCHO at the 2013 Public Health Preparedness Summit March 12-15 in Atlanta! The goal of the summit is to strengthen and enhance the capabilities of public health professionals and other participants to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and other public health emergencies.

 

A selection of sessions will examine infectious disease outbreaks and mass dispensing, including:

• New Strategies for Pandemic Antiviral Distribution and Dispensing: A Workshop for State and Local Public Health
• Public Health and the Law: Legal Tools to Assist Public Health Practitioners in Responding to Infectious Disease Outbreaks and Other Public Health Emergencies
• Supporting Healthcare Mass Dispensing Planning: New Tools for New Market Realities
• Innovative Use of Nurse Triage Lines during an Influenza Pandemic: Update on a CDC Collaborative Initiative between Public Health, Poison Control Centers, and Other Partners
• Enhancing Community Preparedness by Developing Closed PODs

For more details on the summit, including the full agenda and registration information, visit http://www.phprep.org/. 

 

Public Health Uniform National Data System 

NACCHO recently launched the Public Health Uniform National Data System (PHUND$), a web-based public health financial data collection and analysis portal hosted on the NACCHO website. PHUND$ was created to 1) Provide LHDs with timely, reliable and uniform data to support assessment and decision-making; 2) help NACCHO describe and monitor financial health and sustainability of public health systems; 3) provide LHDs the ability to proactively assess their financial and operational performance; 4) promote uniform public health financial management practices; and 5) increase public health agency transparency. For additional information, please contact Giselle Plata or 202-783-1376.  

 

Clinician Telephone Consultation for Fungal Meningitis Cases
CDC established the Clinicians Consultation Network (CCN) to support clinicians in treating patients associated with the multistate fungal meningitis outbreak. The CCN is a free, telephone-based service of experts in fungal disease treatment and management. To access the service, physicians should call 1-800-CDC-INFO and then select the appropriate prompts. A CDC-INFO call agent will verify each physician's role in direct patient management before directing him or her to the CCN. Call operating hours are 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM EDT, Monday through Friday, except for federal holidays.

HealthMap Vaccine Finder: Become a Listed Provider for Immunizations
List Your Influenza and Adult Vaccine Clinics with HealthMap Vaccine Finder! Local public health departments are encouraged to register their influenza and adult immunization services on HealthMap Vaccine Finder. The public can now find real-time influenza vaccination clinics at local health departments, pharmacies, and other influenza vaccination venues by using this free, online resource.Clinical Vaccinology Course, Chicago, March 8-10, 2013

   

National Provider Call: Meaningful Use
CMS will host a National Provider Call on the first two stages of Meaningful Use under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs on January 16, 2013 (2:00-3:30 PM EDT). The agenda and registration information will be available soon on the CMS National Provider Calls registration website.

2013 National Immunization Conference to be held June 3-6, 2013 The 2013 National Immunization Conference (NIC) is scheduled for June 3-6, 2013, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia. Information regarding lodging, registration, and abstract submission guidelines will be posted on the NIC web section as it becomes available.  

Immunizations

2009-2010 Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Coverage Among College Students from 8 Universities in North Carolina
Poehling KA, Blocker J, Ip EH, Peters TR, Wolfson M. J American College Health. 2012 Nov 16; 60(8): 541-47.

Interventions to Improve Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination Rates Among Community-Dwelling Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Lau D, Hu J, Majumdar SR, Storie DA, Rees SE, Johnson JA. Ann Fam Med. Nov/Dec 2012; 10(6):538-46.