In an effort to consolidate and organize the rapidly changing information on vaccinations for children, this page has been re-organized to make it easier to navigate. AAP District II is consolidating vaccine information so that it is not duplicated on the Chapter web sites.
Table of Contents
- Progress and Disparities in Early Childhood Vaccination in New York State
- Safe Return to School after COVID
- “Get Smart About Antibiotics”
- Vaccine and Immunization Information for Providers
- New York State Immunization Information System (NYSIIS)
- NYS Vaccines for Children (VFC)
- Vaccine Safety Basics
- Seasonal Influenza Information for Health Care Providers
- Provider Training and Education
- Parent Resources
- Immunization Schedules
- Other Resources
- HIV Post-exposure Prophylaxis for HIV
- Are Pharmacies Stealing Your Patients?
- Talking About Vaccines with Dr. Paul Offit
The above link goes to a page from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia featuring videos by Dr. Offit. Each video in the series, currently on YouTube, is two to four minutes long and features Dr. Offit answering common vaccine-related questions. All current videos relate to different age groups, while a variety of topics are planned for future additions to the series as well. - Increasing Awareness and Utilization of Cancer Preventing Vaccine
Progress and Disparities in Early Childhood Vaccination in New York State
Help Kids’ Safe Return to School – Get Caught Up on Recommended Vaccines
COVID-19 disrupted both in-person learning and routine well-child visits for many children over the last year. As a result, too many children have fallen behind on receiving recommended vaccines1. We all want our kids to be back in school safely, and that means getting caught up on vaccines that were missed over the last year. CDC’s public sector vaccine ordering data show a 14% drop in 2020-2021 compared to 2019, and measles vaccine is down by more than 20%. Kids need to get caught up now so that they are protected as they go back to in-person learning. Catch-up vaccination will require efforts from healthcare systems, health care providers, schools, state and local governments, and families.
Healthcare systems and healthcare providers should:
- Identify families whose children have missed doses and contact them to schedule appointments
- Prompt clinicians when these children are seen to deliver vaccines that are due or overdue
- Let families know what precautions are in place for safe delivery of in-person services
Healthcare provider organizations should:
- Encourage members to identify and follow up with families whose children have missed doses to get appointments scheduled
Schools and state and local governments agencies should:
- Send reminders to families about school immunization requirements
- Follow-up with families of children who are not in compliance with requirements to encourage compliance
- Use the state’s immunization information system’s reminder-recall capacity to notify families whose children have fallen behind on vaccines
We all should:
- Communicate directly to families the importance of well-child visits and getting caught up on any recommended vaccines that were missed
- Help us protect children by doing what you can to get kids caught up on recommended vaccines.
Sincerely,
Nancy Messonnier, MD
Senior Official, CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force Director,
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
Get Smart Campaign
This link will take you to the New York “Get Smart” toolkit, developed as an electronic resource for healthcare providers, facility administrators, school nurses and other professionals. You’ll find links to educational materials and please check pages 4-14 for CDC clinical guidelines that may be printed out and distributed at your facility for staff meetings, quick reference, etc.
Additionally, please check out the NYS Department of Health Antibiotic Resistance page with other available materials.
Please enlist other physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants in your area, who might prescribe antibiotics in their practices, to spread the word about the Get Smart Campaign. We are happy to supply materials when possible – please feel free to use this PowerPoint slide deck.
Also included in this week’s announcement: a WHO overview of “woeful misconceptions” about AR.
Thanks for all you do to further the message of the Get Smart Campaign!
Visit CD’s Get Smart Website for activities, events, resources, promotional materials, fact sheets and educational resources.
Vaccine and Immunization Information for Providers
(current schedules, Vaccine Information Statements, supply, storage, administration tools, patient education)
- Child & Adolescent Immunization Schedules for persons aged 0-6 years, 7-18 years, and “catch-up schedule,”Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/child-schedule.htm#hcp
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Immunization – Just for Pediatricians –www2.aap.org/immunization/pediatricians/pediatricians.html
- New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), Information for Providers – www.health.state.ny.us/prevention/immunization/providers/
- Pediatricians can print out an up to date computerized Immunization Record from NYSIIS or CIR (for NYC) and that print out is now acceptable documentation.
- CDC , For Health Care Professionals/Providers –www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp.htm
- Subscribe to the CDC’s free email subscription service. Receive email notifications when new or updated immunization information is available: www.cdc.gov/emailupdates/index.html. Click on Subscribe, then click on all immunization topics of interest.
NYSIIS
NYSIIS was developed as required under Article 21, Title 6, Section 2168 of the Public Health Law. This law, which took effect January 1, 2008, mandates health care providers to report all immunizations administered to persons less than 19 years of age to the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH). The law also requires that immunization histories of all persons less than 19 years of age who receive vaccines after January 1, 2008 also be recorded in NYSIIS, if those histories have not already been reported.
The Public Health Law provided a two year implementation period to enable providers to be phased in through continuous regional roll out. Between 2008 and 2011 multiple training opportunities and methods were available to all providers statewide. It is important to note that those who are not currently participating are out of compliance with the legislative mandate. Failure to comply with public health law may result in monetary penalties. It is imperative that any provider organization that has not yet attended training or begun reporting to NYSIIS take the necessary steps to do so by reviewing the contents of this letter. Starting in 2012, classroom trainings are no longer be offered. However, webinar trainings and onsite opportunities are available.
There is a lot of information on the Health Commerce System (HCS) NYSIIS page, especially under “Training Information” and “Information for Providers.” Please visit frequently!
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General questions can be directed to NYSIIS staff at (518) 473-2839 or
nysiis@health.state.ny.us
The NYSIIS team is pleased to announce that development of the NYSIIS Online Self-Guided Training Tutorials is now complete! The NYSIIS tutorials were designed as a complement to both the classroom and webinar training methods. These tutorials offer training participants more training flexibility and an opportunity to review specific functions and concepts as needed. There are 10 self-paced tutorials that demonstrate the core functions for utilizing NYSIIS.
The Self-Guided Training Tutorials link can be accessed from the NYSIIS Training page on the Health Commerce System: https://commerce.health.state.ny.us/hpn/bcdc/immunization/training_info.html
Below is a list of the topics available for viewing:
- Tutorial 1: Accessing NYSIIS & Verifying Organizational Information
- Tutorial 2: Adding New Users
- Tutorial 3: Searching for a Patient
- Tutorial 4: Entering a New Patient
- Tutorial 5: Viewing the Immunization History and Recommendation Screen
- Tutorial 6: Adding Immunizations
- Tutorial 7: Generating Patient Specific Reports
- Tutorial 8: Setting Up the NYSIIS Inventory Module
- Tutorial 9: Entering Schools, Providers, and Clinicians
- Tutorial 10: Generating Reminder/Recall Letters
- Tutorial 11: Ad Hoc Report
- Tutorial 12: Assessment Report
- Tutorial 13: Benchmark Report
NYS Vaccines for Children Program
www.health.ny.gov/prevention/immunization/vaccines_for_children.htm
Vaccine Safety Basics
- AAP, Vaccine Safety – www.aap.org/immunization/families/safety.html
- NYSDOH, Vaccine Safety and the Importance of Vaccines – www.nyhealth.gov/prevention/immunization/vaccine_safety/
- CDC, Vaccine Safety – www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/index.html
- CDC, Provider Resources for Vaccine Conversations with Parents –www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/hcp/conversations.htm
- CDC, Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) –www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/Activities/vaers.html
Seasonal Influenza Information for Health Care Providers
- NYSDOH, Seasonal Influenza Information for Health Care Providers – www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/influenza/seasonal/providers/
- CDC , Seasonal Influenza Information for Health Professionals – www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/index.htm
For detailed influenza information, see the AAP Red Book Online Influenza Resource page or the CDC FluView. All What’s the Latest with the Flu messages are archived.
Provider Training and Education
- AAP, Continuing Education – www2.aap.org/immunization/pediatricians/continuinged.html
- NYSDOH, Provider Training and Education –www.health.ny.gov/prevention/immunization/providers/training_and_education.htm
- The recorded version of the NYSDOH Bureau of Immunization’s most recent webinar, You Are the Key to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Cancer Prevention: Understanding the burden of HPV disease and the importance of the HPV vaccine recommendation, is now available for viewing. This link will take you to the NYSDOH Immunization Update Webinar Series web page where you will find the program and how to access it. On this web page are past webinars that may also be of interest to members.
Parent Resources
(Information Duplicated on our Parents page)
General Immunization and Vaccine information
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- AAP, Immunization – www2.aap.org/immunization/families/families.html
- NYSDOH, Childhood and Adolescent Immunizations – www.health.ny.gov/prevention/immunization/childhood_and_adolescent.htm
- CDC, Vaccines and Information – Parents What You Need to Know – www.cdc.gov/vaccines/spec-grps/parents.htm
- CDC, Preteens and Teens – www.cdc.gov/vaccines/who/teens/index.html
- Every Child By Two, Vaccinate Your Baby –www.vaccinateyourbaby.org/
Vaccine Safety
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- AAP, Vaccine Safety – www2.aap.org/immunization/families/safety.html
- NYSDOH, Vaccine Safety and the Importance of Vaccines – www.health.ny.gov/prevention/immunization/vaccine_safety/
- CDC Vaccine Safety Information for Parents – www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/populations/parents.html
Seasonal Influenza
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- NYSDOH, Seasonal Influenza Information for Children and Adolescents –www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/influenza/seasonal/childhood_adolescent/
- CDC, Seasonal Influenza – www.cdc.gov/flu/
Other Provider Resources
- CDC, Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases “The Pink Book”
The Pink Book provides physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and others with the most comprehensive information on vaccine-preventable diseases. www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/default.htm
- Immunization Action Coalition (IAC)
The IAC is a premier immunization resource featuring comprehensive information on vaccines and vaccine preventable diseases. These resources are intended for health care professionals and parents. www.immunize.org/
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Vaccine Education Center
The Vaccine Education Center is another premier immunization resource for both health care professionals and parents. www.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/home.html
- CDC, Vaccines and Immunizations home web page –www.cdc.gov/vaccines/
- Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)
- CDC, Travelers’ Health – wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/
- NYSDOH, Vaccine Safety and the Importance of Immunization home web page – www.health.ny.gov/prevention/immunization/
- American Academy of Pediatrics, Immunization home web page. – www2.aap.org/immunization/
Post-exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV
Dr. Agins of the NYSDOH AIDS Institute highlights the updated 2014 clinical guidelines for prescribing post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) in a recently published letter, and lists additional resources that support the provision of PEP. The aim of this letter is to encourage clinical providers across NYS to be vigilant in identifying cases where PEP may be prescribed to prevent HIV infection; a critical step in ending the epidemic in New York.
Are Pharmacies Stealing Your Patients?
The scariest word for a primary care physician these days isn’t ACA, reimbursements, or even liability insurance. It’s attrition. The great migration of patients continues to shift from the primary care practice to other facilities. They will go where there’s quick and easy access to good care. In recent years, that has meant a migration to urgent care centers. Now, the latest trend, and potentially far more damaging to a physician’s practice, comes from pharmacies.
Physicians are long accustomed to sending their patients to pharmacies to fill a prescription. But, now they’re doing so and patients aren’t coming back. That’s because pharmacies are adding clinicians, accessible both on-site and remotely.
Recently, Walgreen’s announced a partnership with MDLIVE in which it will provide their customers with online, on-demand access to physicians. A pilot of the program has launched in a few states and additional ones will be added soon. The role the pharmacy is undergoing a dramatic transformation and its impact on the healthcare system should not be discounted.
In the world of vaccines, patients are increasingly receiving their immunizations at urgent care clinics and now pharmacies. And as these care centers build out the services they provide, patients will have limited incentive to return to their primary care physicians. When a patient leaves a practice, for a vaccination or otherwise, if they’re satisfied with their care, they’re not coming back.
Primary care practices can’t afford to let this migration continue. Rather than lament the shifting dynamics, physicians are beginning to implement meaningful and successful tactics to keep their patients:
- Communicate early and often – provide frequent, proactive communication to inform patients of their care history and recommendations for future vaccinations
- Build on their trust in you – remember, patients may appreciate the convenience of an urgent clinic or pharmacy, but you can leverage your practice’s earned trust, respect and credibility
- Raise awareness of vaccines – many patients don’t understand the significance of vaccines or the consequences of failing to adhere to guidelines; provide patients with educational and informational material, either from the Centers for Disease Control or other sources
- Make it easy – vaccines are confusing and the requirements, guidelines and recommendations frequently evolve; help your patients by providing crystal-clear guidance on what they need to do, when and how
So, what will you do as a primary care physician to compete with the convenience of jelly beans, allergy medications and immunizations all in the same store?
Increasing Awareness and Utilization of Cancer Preventing Vaccine
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States, so common that nearly every sexually active person will acquire it at some point in his or her life. When not cleared by one’s immune system, certain strains of the virus are linked to serious health issues including genital warts and numerous types of cancer.
The dangers of HPV are well known, and preventative treatments have been available for nearly a decade, and yet, coverage remains low. In 2006, the first vaccine was licensed to prevent HPV-related diseases. The vaccine, Gardasil, is given in a three-part series over the course of six months. Initially, only approved for use by girls, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends that both females and males between the ages of 9 and 26 receive the vaccine as the incidence of HPV-associated cancers affecting men continues to grow.
Since the introduction of the HPV vaccine, numerous studies have highlighted its positive health contributions. In a 2013 study, the CDC found that the proportion of girls infected by the four strains of HPV covered by the vaccine decreased 88% among those who had been vaccinated. More recently, a study of 26,000 teen girls found that those who received all three doses of the vaccine were 44% less likely to be infected with cervical dysplasia and 43% less likely to be infected with genital warts. In addition to preventing infection, another recent study concluded that the vaccine could save significant amount of money by avoiding future cancer care.
While the HPV vaccine has proven effective, adoption among men and women remains low. According to the CDC, only 40% of women and a paltry 6% of males between ages 19 to 26 reported at least one dose of the HPV vaccine in 2013. In addition, a significant percentage of individuals fail to complete the recommended three doses. A study completed by the CDC found only 38% of girls between the ages of 13 and 17 completed the series; for boys in the same age group, only 14% completed all three doses.
In March of 2015, Gardasil 9 was officially launched offering an enhanced version of the vaccine to protect against nine strains of HPV. With this increased protection, there is a belief that a greater percentage of adolescents will get immunized.
However, with 33,200 cases of cancer each year tied to HPV, it is important that coverage and completion of all three doses of the vaccination improve. Healthcare professionals should make a concerted effort to communicate the benefits of the vaccination to both teens and their parents. By discussing the potential risks of going unvaccinated, we can increase coverage and ensure more individuals do not suffer from this all too common and preventable disease.