January 2016 - In This Issue:
cervical health word cloud
NEWS & RESOURCES
January is Cervical Health Awareness Month! Find sample newsletter blurbs, tweets, and more here


The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases will offer a webinar on "Vaccination for Healthcare Professionals" on January 13 at 9am PT. Learn more and register here



The Spokane Regional Health District will hold a presentation for providers, "You Are the Key to HPV Cancer Prevention," on January 14 from 6-8pm. Learn more and register here


Organizations of all sizes who have worked to create better healthcare through quality improvement are invited to nominate for Qualis Health's 2016 Awards of Excellence in Healthcare Quality


Applications are now open for the Gerontological Society of America's 2016 ICAMP (Immunization Champions, Advocates, and Mentors Program) Academy. The first session will be in February in Los Angeles. Learn more at www.navp.org.  


Check out the latest editions of the national Immunization Action Coalition's newsletters, Needle Tips and Vaccinate Adults. They include details about meningococcal vaccine recommendations, Q&A with experts, and more! 


SAVE THE DATES FOR THESE GREAT EVENTS: 

The Immunization Action Coalition will be holding a free workshop on Standing Orders for Adult Immunizations in Seattle on March 15, 2016. Learn more at www.standingorders.org.



The American Immunization Registry Association will be holding its National Conference right here in Seattle, April 5-7, 2016. Learn more at www.immregistries.org


The  National Conference for Immunization Coalitions and Partnerships will be May 25-27, 2016 in Indianapolis, Indiana, hosted by the Indiana Immunization Coalition. Conference registration and hotel reservations are now open! Go to  www.immunizationcoalitiion conference.org to learn more.


 

ABOUT US

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 2016 include vaccine hesitancy; access to immunizations; provider education; and special populations. 

QUESTIONS?
Contact Sara Jaye Sanford, MPH, CHES, Immunization Coordinator at 
or  206-830-5175
For more information about the Immunization Action Coalition of Washington:

Dear IACW Member,

 

We hope you had a great holiday season and we are excited to kick off 2016 with you at our first quarterly meeting of the year on January 20! 

 

Thanks for reading,     

 

Sara Jaye Sanford, MPH, CHES
Please join us for our quarterly meeting from 12-2pm on January 20th! We will be featuring guest speakers from the Washington State Department of Health to demonstrate new and forthcoming capabilities in the Washington State Immunization Information System, our immunization registry. Preview the new school modules, see how to do a pocket of need report and generate reminder/recall lists, and more! Additionally, we will discuss exciting forthcoming changes to the coalition's committee structure, including new ways to get involved. We hope to see you there! 

The quarterly meeting will be held at the Tukwila Community Center, and light refreshments will be available. 
For driving directions, click here
To participate via webinar, click here

Quarterly Meeting: 
January 20, 12-2pm, Tukwila Community Center 

Public Awareness and Education Meeting: 
January 13, 12-2pm, WithinReach 

Adult Immunization Committee Meeting: 
January 20, 10am-12pm, Tukwila Community Center 

HPV Task Force Meeting: 
January 20, 2-4pm, Tukwila Community Center 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) 2015 Vaccination Coverage Awards on December 16. The awards are based on 2014 data. Washington received two national vaccine coverage awards: 
  • Healthy People 2020 immunization coverage among adolescents aged 13-17 years
  • Highest herpes zoster (shingles) vaccination coverage among adults over 60 years
Here's a message about these awards from the Washington State Department of Health: 
We are excited about this recognition of our continuing efforts to increase immunization rates in Washington. We showed outstanding progress toward Healthy People 2020 targets on selected adolescent immunizations: between 2013 and 2014 our HPV series rates for males increased by about 50%, and we improved our adolescent immunization rates for 10 of 11 recommended vaccines.

We were also among the states with the highest rates of herpes zoster vaccination in adults age 60 and older. It's great to see our success for this vaccine, because access, awareness and reimbursement can all be challenges in increasing zoster vaccination rates.

This is great news for our state, and confirms how hard all of our partners work to make sure people get their recommended immunizations across the life span. Community protection is truly a community effort, and all of our partners play a role in this success.

We know that we still have to do better. We are not yet at Healthy People 2020 goals for many immunizations, and we still search for the best ways to build vaccine confidence. We know this work is hard, and we need our local health, provider and community stakeholders to continue to work together with us to reach vaccine-hesitant families, and to remove barriers to immunization.

These awards are a tribute to the great efforts that all of our partners and stakeholders make. Thank you!


In observance of Cervical Health Awareness Month in January, the CDC Adolescent Immunization Communications Team is proud to present the "Taming Conversations Around HPV Vaccine and Other Immunizations in Social Media" webinar series. Discussion will be mostly focused on HPV vaccine; however many principles that we will address are relevant to immunization overall. Each webinar will offer perspectives from experts in immunization, vaccine safety, vaccine acceptance, and social media. 
IACW MEETINGS 
Mark your calendars for our 2016 quarterly meeting dates: 

January 20, 12-2pm, Tukwila Community Center 
April 20, 12-2pm, Location TBD 
July 20, 12-2pm, Location TBD 
October 19, 12-2pm, Location TBD 
FREE RESOURCES FROM IACW 

Plain Talk Check out the following free resources from IACW and our partners! 

 

CME course on HPV immunization: free online CME course on HPV immunization is now available from WithinReach, Cardea, and the Washington State Department of Health. Learn everything you need to know about HPV vaccines - plus practical strategies to communicate successfully with patients and parents! The course is on-demand and can be taken any time. Register at www.cardeaservices.org/resourcecenter/you-are-the-key-to-hpv-cancer-prevention.  
 

 

Plain Talk About Childhood Immunization: This booklet is one of the most in-depth resources available for parents who want detailed answers about immunizations, and is available in Russian as well as English and Spanish! To order unlimited free quantities from the Department of Health, click on the language you're interested in. It is also available online in a new mobile-friendly format!      


Jessica Broz, Todd Faubion, Mackenzie Melton, and Sara Jaye Sanford

 

Immunization Action Coalition of Washington 

WithinReach

 

 
Promoting, protecting & supporting Immunization as a vital part
of the health and development of children and families.