Dear ,
The World Coalition on Adult Vaccination has had a busy summer and has shown extraordinary progress in advocating for a life course approach to vaccination across sectors and disciplines.
It is an honour to see the Coalition grow to include new members and increase initiatives -- thank you all for your efforts.
The IFA Vaccines4Life Team hopes you are informed, inspired and make connections as a result of the Coalition member updates within this newsletter.
Yours sincerely,
The IFA Vaccines4Life Team
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Upcoming Events, Webinars and Meetings
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"Frailty and Vaccine Effectiveness in Older Adults" Webinar
19 September 2019
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In celebration of the 2019 International Day of Older Persons (IDOP), the IFA is hosting a webinar to bring attention to the critical nature of a life course approach to immunization as part of the universal health care agenda for all.
This webinar will feature Dr Melissa Andrew and her work on frailty and vaccine effectiveness in older adults and will be moderated by IFA Secretary General, Dr Jane Barratt.
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United Nations International Day of Older Persons Side Event: Positioning Adult Vaccination
11 October 2019
United Nations Headquarters, New York
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The IFA will host a side event at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to celebrate the International Day of Older Persons. The event will highlight the importance of the right for people of all ages to access and receive vaccinations pertinent to their health, with a particular focus on influenza immunization.
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Vaccines4Life Summit
31 October 2020
Niagara Falls, Canada
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In advance of the IFA 15th Global Conference on Ageing, the IFA will host the Vaccines4Life Summit, a full day program that aims to inform the global agenda for a life course approach to adult vaccination. Key objectives of the summit include:
- Understand the public impact of vaccine preventable diseases;
- Inspire change through examples of good practice; and
- Galvanize action through targeted communication strategies.
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Upcoming IFA Expert Meetings
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Influencing Policy to Improve Adult Vaccination in Germany
3-4 December
Munich, Germany
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A Forum to Explore the Role of Patient Organizations in Vaccination
6 December, London UK
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Vaccination in France: Changing the Public Perception
Lyon, France
9-10 December
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Adult Vaccination in the Asia Pacific - Mobilizing Policy and Practice Knowledge
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The Secondary Benefits of Influenza Vaccination - Literature Review
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Data, Bots and Drones - Can technology help increase uptake of adult immunisation?
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IFA Feedback to the World Health Organization Immunization Agenda 2030
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Targeted Communication: Worth the Shot - Strategically Improving Adult Vaccination Rates
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The Salzburg Statement on Vaccination Acceptance
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World Coalition on Adult Vaccination
Member Updates
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Vaccines Today launches new video
Submitted by Gary Finnegan, Vaccines Today
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For almost a decade online,
Vaccines Today has grown to become a vital part of the 'immunity community'. The information portal, based in Europe, has launched a new video to showcase its story and encourage others to join the online conversation.
'As we begin to write the next chapter in our story, we are constantly looking for new partners and supporters who can help us reach new audiences and take our initiative to the next level,' said Gary Finnegan, Editor of Vaccines Today.
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Expect plenty more from Vaccines Today this autumn, beginning with coverage of the EU Global Vaccine Summit in Brussels in September, followed by the Fondation Merieux Vaccine Acceptance conference in Annecy, France.
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The GSA National Adult Vaccination Program (NAVP) participates in Capital Hill Briefing on Vaccines
Submitted by Elizabeth Sobczyk, National Adult Vaccination Program
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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) National Adult Vaccination Program (NAVP) recently participated in a Capitol Hill Briefing: Access to Vaccines for Medicare Part D Beneficiaries – Today and In the Future. GSA CEO James Appleby moderated the event and NAVP workgroup member Stefan Gravenstein provided data on the cost effectiveness of vaccines developed for older adults. Find more information on the briefing
here
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NAVP is also collaborating with the Gerontological Advance Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA) to offer its Immunization Champions, Advocates, and Mentors Program (ICAMP) in Las Vegas in October. It will be offered as a
pre-conference workshop
to the GAPNA annual meeting. Healthcare professionals are invited to join us. For more information on NAVP, or to join our monthly newsletter mailing list, please contact
navp@geron.org
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Kimberley Littlemore produces Influenza Awareness Video
Submitted by Kimberley Littlemore, eHealth Digital Media
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"In March I found myself bracing against the wind and rain on top of a Scottish mountain with flu scientist Dr Bram Palache. It was a far cry from the warm conference room in Berlin where we met in January for the IFA’s expert conference ["Fighting the Flu through Targeted Awareness Campaigns"], tackling issues relating to flu and vaccine hesitancy.
I was wondering about the wisdom of my idea [to produce a film of Dr Palache capturing his frustration with low vaccination uptake rates] and so, I think, was Dr Palache. We spent the day provoking Dr Palache so that he shared his frustrations about global vaccine hesitancy with the same sort of passion that he shared at the conference.
I think it has worked… but to be sure we are about to test it with the help of a validated questionnaire and some focus groups. 'Team Berlin' has come together to support this project in all sorts of ways. It feels like a family of people working together towards a common goal. It’s a great feeling. I hope to goodness that my instincts are correct and that this will prove a good way to communicate the benefits of vaccinations. We’ll let you know!"
- Kimberley Littlemore, eHealth Digital Media
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Vaccination Rates Rising for Australian Aged Care Workers
Submitted by Graeme Prior, Hall & Prior Aged Care Group
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Employees at Australia’s Hall & Prior Health and Aged Care Group have continued to achieve even higher influenza (flu) vaccination rates in 2019, owing to strong internal programs and a severe flu season.
Hall & Prior has industrial instruments supporting the program which has helped to increase the vaccination rates each year. Enterprise agreements cover 90 per cent of the workforce in one State, which includes an exclusion from work clauses for unvaccinated staff during outbreaks.
The higher vaccination rates this year may also have been due to media reporting flu-related deaths, and an increasing focus on the community for mandatory vaccination within the health workforce.
The flu season this year has been severe in Australia, which is now at the halfway point. After a late flu season last year, the Australian Health Department recommendations were to delay vaccinations until late May. This meant that vaccine stocks were not available until mid-May, but by then there had already been high rates of flu recorded with some of the highest death rates on record for elderly, young and middle aged populations.
Advances in vaccines will hopefully lead to longer periods of vaccine prevention of the flu, and improved vaccination rates.
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Update on Immunisation in Australia
Submitted by Carolyn Stapleton, Australian College of Nursing
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The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) is committed to the promotion of immunisation. As part of this, ACN provides the Immunisation for Health Practitioners course which has recently been enhanced to ensure that it is contemporary and meets stakeholder requirements for the development of knowledgeable and capable authorised nurse immunisers.(1)
In a position statement and discussion paper which will soon be released, ACN advocates for amendments to Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation to reduce barriers for nurse immunisers and increase their access to immunisation program data. ACN also calls for funding for research around adult vaccination rates in Australia, to inform and facilitate significant improvements in this area, and for nurse-led innovation in the promotion of vaccine uptake.
The Department of Health has recently released the National Immunisation Strategy 2019-2024, which ACN discusses in the forthcoming position paper and had input into. ACN advocates for the active involvement of nurses in the implementation of the key actions for all eight strategic priorities. ACN will continue to commit to the recommendations by educating nurse immunisers through its education courses. Additionally, ACN will work tirelessly at a policy level to advocate for vaccinations to be accessible to all Australians and raise particular awareness to the need for adults to monitor their vaccination status.
(1) "Immunisation for Health Practitioners." Australian College of Nursing. August 02, 2019. Accessed August 09, 2019. https://www.acn.edu.au/education/immunisation/immunisation-for-health-practitioners#faq.
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Vaccination Coverage Observatory
Submitted by Ngai Sze Wong and Shui Shan Lee, Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases, the Chinese University of Hong Kong
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In subtropical Hong Kong, annual influenza vaccination is recommended for vulnerable populations and healthcare workers before the main seasonal peak in Winter. Vaccination coverage of healthcare workers is particularly important both for self-protection and for preventing virus transmission.
Since 2006 an annual nurses survey has been conducted by the Stanley Ho Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases to track the vaccination pattern in the community. Over the past decade, a V-shape curve of vaccination coverage was observed. The coverage declined from 57% in 2005/06 to 24%-25% in 2010/11-2011/12 (the years following H1N1(pdm09) pandemic), and increased gradually to 48% in 2018/19. Past history of influenza vaccination (odds ratio (OR) ranging from 11.25 to 44.55, p<0.05) and family members’ vaccination (OR from 2.18 to 6.89, p<0.05) were positively associated with vaccination in all survey years. Some other factors, including recent diagnosis of influenza or influenza-like illnesses, older age (>55 years old), longer work experience (>20 years), and infrequent patient contacts were in significant positive association with vaccination in some of the years.
These results showed that while impending threats of influenza epidemics could influence vaccination decision, one’s vaccination habit and family influences are consistent predictors of vaccination uptake.
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Valuing Vaccinations Across Generations
Submitted by Alan King, Generations United
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Generations United’s Valuing Vaccinations Across Generations campaign in the U.S. continues to produce compelling and shareable content on how older adult vaccinations impact all ages as a result of young and old connecting through intergenerational programs.
Generations United launched the campaign in 2016 with The Gerontological Society of America and the American Academy of Pediatrics to bridge the importance of immunizations within segmented groups into an intergenerational conversation within families and among different generations.
Generations United took the campaign abroad, working with teams led by the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (TMIG) in Japan and the University of Granada - Business Sector Foundation in Spain.
The campaign team in Japan (
www.ikouyo-vaccine.com
) launched an English version of the website and shared messages through manga cartoons and translated content on its website, leaflets and social media. They built off their successful grassroots strategy through presentations and working with local governments on direct outreach in communities.
In Spain, the campaign team recruited participants for a study on vaccine beliefs and attitudes. They also trained older adults to go into schools to educate young people about vaccines. The campaign also worked with health professionals in primary care centers and senior centers.
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Examples of Good Practice from Immunize Canada
Submitted by Lucie Marisa Bucci, Immunize Canada
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Immunize Canada has put together several infographics to educate Canadians on the importance of adult vaccination. Click each image to download and share on your own social media platforms, and check out Immunize Canada's
Social Media Calendar for the month of September.
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Follow the IFA Vaccines4Life
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