Jeff Duchin, King County Health Officer & Chief of Communicable Disease Epidemiology and Immunization, clarifies how the recent news coverage on influenza in Australia translates to the United States.
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| The New York Times published a big-picture article about why a flu shot is needed each year. |
The National Influenza Vaccination Disparities Partnership is hosting a Webinar on January 10 at 11am entitled "Talking to Patients about Flu: Sharing Facts and Addressing Misconceptions and Hesitancy."
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Flu activity increasing, with 20 confirmed lab-confirmed flu deaths in Washington. Check
here weekly for an updated epidemic curve of influenza in our State.
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| After Washington implemented Senate Bill 5005 in 2011, requiring counseling and a signed form from a licensed health care provider to obtain a vaccine exemption, researchers found a significant decrease in exemption rates across Washington State. |
The California Immunization Coalition (CIC) is hosting a Webinar on January 8 at 9am entitled "An Interprofessional Approach to HPV and Oropharyngeal Cancer Prevention Education."
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Test your vaccine knowledge with these quiz questions. Even better - for every correct answer, UNICEF Canada will donate 1 vaccine to someone in need.
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Dr. Chris Elias, president of the Global Development Program of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, highlights
vaccination accomplishments for 2017 and reviews the gaps that still exist.
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A study in Nature Human Behavior found that 'moral foundations' may dictate a parent's response to vaccinating their children.
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Founded in 1994, the Immunization Action Coalition of Washington (IACW), a program of WithinReach, works to improve the health of the community by minimizing the incidence of vaccine preventable diseases through the optimal use of immunizations across the lifespan. Our priorities for 2018 are:
- Increase vaccine confidence by being a trusted source of timely information about immunizations;
- Monitor legislation and advocate for policies that promote and maintain access to immunizations;
- Improve awareness of adolescent immunizations
- Develop data-driven resources and educational materials for providers who work with underserved communities.
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QUESTIONS OR SUGGESTIONS?
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Contact Izzy Brandstetter
, MPH, Community & Systems Coordinator
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For more information about the Immunization Action Coalition of Washington:
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We hope you had a restful and productive holiday season. Welcome to the first IACW Express of 2018, where we're ready to kick the year off with an abundance of immunization resources and opportunities to get involved!
Thanks for reading,
Izzy Brandstetter, MPH
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Code of Conduct: We have a new code of conduct for members and participants. Please take a chance to familiarize yourself with this brief document prior to attending our January Quarterly Meeting. In essence, members and participants agree to support the IACW's mission and strengthen immunization efforts in Washington State that are based on evidence-based guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
New Committee Structure: At our last Executive Committee meeting, we discussed coalition structure as a whole and the role of standing committees. We decided that we will replace our current structure of standing committees with project-base workgroups that meet on an ad-hoc basis. We feel that this new model allows for better engagement, use of resources, and we can be nimble and responsive when new opportunities arise. We also hope that this new model helps us focus on continuing to develop robust and informative quarterly meetings for our members at large.
2018 Priorities: After taking into account your responses from our member survey over the summer, the Executive Committee selected four new coalition priorities for 2018.
- Increase vaccine confidence by being a trusted source of timely information about immunizations.
- Monitor legislation and advocate for policies that promote and maintain access to immunizations.
- Improve awareness of adolescent immunizations.
- Develop data-driven resources and educational materials for providers who work with underserved communities.
Our website has been updated to reflect these changes. As always, if you have any questions or need clarification, feel free to reach out. |
NOMINATE YOUR
IMMUNIZATION HEROES |
 We'd like to share multiple opportunities to recognize immunization heroes.
Firstly, nominations are open for the
IACW Advocate, IACW Collaborator, and CDC Childhood Immunization Champion awards! We are partnering with the Washington State Department of Health to streamline the nomination process. Please consider nominating an awardee and sharing this opportunity with partners and constituents. Awardees will be recognized at our April Quarterly meeting, which is during National Infant Immunization Week. Click
here for more information on each award as well as the nomination forms.
Nominations are due February 5th!
Secondly, have you heard about
Immunize Washington? Providers can submit their immunization coverage report from the registry and will be recognized if they have achieved at least 70% series coverage for their childhood or adolescent patient populations. Awardees receive a window cling and status certificate signed by Gov. Inslee! Details and instructions, including past winners and links to the
nomination form and
FAQs are available
here.
Nominations for Immunize WA close on February 17th!
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IMMUNITYCOMMUNITYWA.ORG
RESOURCE OF THE MONTH |
Introducing the Childcare Records Cleanup Toolkit and the School Records Cleanup Toolkit!
State law requires that early learning programs and schools report immunization status of their students on a yearly basis. These toolkits are intended to assist both medical and non-medical professionals find students who are out-of-compliance and gather a list of students with vaccine exemptions. There are also links throughout the toolkits that can direct you to resources and definitions.
These toolkits are the result of a large collaborative effort between the Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD), Washington State Department of Health Office of Immunization and Child Profile (OICP), the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department (TPCHD), Education Service Districts (ESDs) and School Nurse Organization of Washington (SNOW) members, and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).
Please email us if you would like a flyer about these toolkits to distribute to your coworkers or constituents. |
VACCINES & IMMUNITY:
IT TAKES A COMMUNITY |
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December 9, 2017 - March 2018
Would you recognize measles, mumps, or whooping cough if you saw them? In the exhibit, see images and learn about the life-altering complications of these and other diseases. Play the Chicken-poxing video game and discover your body's natural response to disease. learn how vaccines stimulate that response so you gain immunity without actually getting sick. Run a simulation of measles spreading through communities with different vaccination rates to witness herd immunity in action.
To learn more about vaccines, community immunity, and amazing Seattle institutions leading the way in vaccine innovations, visit the newest exhibit inside The Studio, located in Wellbody Academy at Pacific Science Center. Click
here for more information on the exhibit.
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SAVE THE DATE(S): 2018 IACW QUARTERLY MEETINGS
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The schedule for the 2018 IACW quarterly meetings is out! All meetings will be held at the
Tukwila Community Center, Meeting Room A, from 12-2pm. We also have a remote option available for those who are unable to attend in-person.
Our
January meeting will discuss hepatitis A and the ways our State is working hard to prevent an outbreak from moving up the coast.
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New! Records Cleanup Toolkits: These toolkits, designed for both schools & childcares, respectively, are intended to assist both medical and non-medical staff establish immunization record-keeping and documentation workflow processes, or modify existing processes.
Mobile Immunizations Toolkit:
This toolkit is designed to help local health departments work with schools and healthcare providers to plan and host onsite immunization clinics in their schools or community. It was developed and piloted by the Spokane Regional Health District at 26 schools within 10 school districts in Spokane County. You can find the toolkit with its associated planning checklists here.
Adult Immunization Schedules:
Our pocket-sized, convenient format of the recommended adult schedule for patients, update
d for 2017. Order yo
urs today
by emailing
with your name, mailing address, and desired quantity.
E-Courses on Vaccine Hesitancy & HPV Immunization:
V
isit our website to learn everything you need to know about vaccine hesitancy and the HPV vaccine series through two of our e-courses. Both courses are free, and you can register any time at:
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