Every member of the healthcare team has a role to play in raising immunization rates. Access ACP’s new High-Value Immunization Referral Toolkit, a resource designed to facilitate more effective and collaborative immunization referrals among those within the immunization neighborhood. Access ACP’s NEW High-Value Immunization Referral Toolkit here.  

For more immunization resources, visit www.acponline.org/ai

APPLY NOW Opportunity to participate in ACP Quality Improvement Initiative to Increase Adult Influenza Immunization Rates ACP is recruiting internal medicine and subspecialty practices and residency programs to participate in the I Raise the Rates quality improvement programs to increase influenza and adult immunization rates. ACP’s I Raise the Rates program, which is supported by funding from CDC, provides QI education and virtual coaching support from ACP Advance expert coaches to support increased adult immunization coverage. The program also offers access to a virtual learning community, tailored educational offerings, including free registration to QI precourse at the 2023 ACP Internal Medicine meeting in San Diego, CA, as well as the opportunity to earn more than 54 CME and ABIM MOC credits for program participants. 

The deadline to apply is March 1, 2023. Please click the button below to access the recruitment flyer for more information about participation benefits and requirements, as well as the application link. 

Submit your abstract today to be considered for the following opportunities:

• ACP Advance Quality Improvement Excellence Award

• Quality and Well-being Champion Poster Sessions   

Each year, ACP’s Center for Quality recognizes member achievement and contributions to promote quality and well-being. We invite current and past participants of ACP’s quality improvement and well-being programs to submit an abstract for consideration to receive the annual ACP Advance Quality Improvement Excellence Awards and/or present an electronic poster at the Annual Quality and Well-being Champion Networking Reception. These events will be held during the 2023 ACP Internal Medicine Meeting in San Diego, CA.

• ACP Advance Quality Improvement Excellence Award: the ACP Advance Quality Improvement Excellence Awards celebrate the accomplishments of ACP Advance QI program participants and their contributions to improving patient care and outcomes. These awards will be presented at the Annual ACP Advance Quality Improvement Luncheon on Thursday, April 27, 2023, from 12:00 to 1:30 pm PT. 

• Quality and Well-being Champion Posters: the annual Quality and Well-being Champion Reception is a wonderful opportunity to showcase your QI or well-being initiatives and network with fellow champions. Poster presenters will have the opportunity to present their project outcomes to ACP Governance and Leadership, ACP Advance coaches, faculty, and fellow QI and Well-being Champions.  The reception will take place on Friday, April 28, 2023, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm PT.   

Please see attached submission form for more information. The deadline for submissions is December 16, 2022. Award winners and poster presenters will be notified by January 31, 2023. Please contact ACPQI@acponline.org with any questions. 

Flu season is making an early comeback as flu-related hospitalizations are the highest in over a decade for this point in the season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There have been an estimated 880,000 cases of lab-confirmed influenza illnesses, 6,900 hospitalizations, and 360 flu-related deaths nationally this season, according to data released on Friday.

H3N2 is the predominant viral strain currently spreading. Previous seasons with mostly H3N2 viruses have been of higher severity, particularly for older adults and young children, the CDC says. It’s still too early to tell if this trend will continue.

Prefusion F protein vaccine candidates for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) proved safe in adults 60 and up while demonstrating an ability to thwart lower respiratory tract illness, including severe cases, a pair of large phase III trials showed.

A single dose of an RSV prefusion F protein vaccine (RSVPreF3 OA) yielded a vaccine efficacy of 82.6% against lower respiratory tract illness (96.95% CI 57.9-94.1), meeting the study's primary endpoint, and vaccine efficacy landed at 94.1% against severe RSV illness (95% CI 62.4-99.9), reported Michael Ison, MD, MS, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, at the annual IDWeek meeting.

The CDC's vaccine advisors updated their recommendations to clarify when to administer the 20-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine (PCV20; Prevnar 20) in adults who previously received the 13-valent conjugate vaccine (PCV13; Prevnar 13).

In adults 65 and up who have completed their vaccine series with both the PCV13 and 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23; Pneumovax 23), the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 13-2 to recommend shared decision-making to determine whether to give PCV20 at least 5 years after their last dose of pneumococcal vaccine.

Sarah Schillie, MD, MPH, MBA, Communication and Education Branch (CEB), Immunization Services Division (ISD), National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), provides an update on this vaccine-preventable disease and the vaccines used to protect against it. Suzanne Johnson-DeLeon moderates this session. 

There is no registration process to view this presentation. Questions about the material presented can be submitted to nipinfo@cdc.gov. 

A new video will be released every Tuesday through November 1, 2022. Join us on November 1st for the Dengue presentation.