2006-2007 Flu Archive

Protect yourself and your loved ones this holiday season.

Top 3 reasons to get your flu vaccine

1. Prevents influenza-related death.
   Each year over 36,000 people in the U.S. die because of the flu—most are 65 or older. More people die from flu than from any other vaccine-preventable disease.
2. Prevents severe illness.
   In the U.S. influenza puts about 200,000 people in the hospital each year. Children younger than 2 years old are as likely to be hospitalized as adults who are 65 or older.
3. Protects other people.
   You should get vaccinated if you live with or care for others who are at high risk of complications from the flu. Getting a flu vaccination yourself can help protect your family members, including seniors and young children.

Locate a Flu Shot

Check with your physician or use one of these convenient locators to schedule your flu vaccine.

CDC Announces National Influenza Vaccination Week

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the designation of the week after Thanksgiving (November 27 to December 3) as National Influenza Vaccination Week. This event is designed to raise awareness of the importance of continuing influenza (flu) vaccination, as well as foster greater use of flu vaccine through the months of November, December and beyond. CDC is recommending that people take this opportunity to be vaccinated and is hopeful that flu vaccine providers will use this time to enhance flu vaccine availability by scheduling additional clinics; extending clinic hours; and enabling a larger role for mass vaccination at places such as retail locations. Visit http://www.cdc.gov/flu/nivw06.htm for more information.

New Flu Season Posters Available

The Bureau of Immunization is pleased to announce the availability of the following new flu season posters.

Note: these files are Adobe PDF of approximately 1 MB and open in new window

• If you have a chronic health condition, you need a flu shot.
• Stay healthy during your pregnancy. Get vaccinated.
• I got a flu shot to protect myself and the ones I love.
• Get your children vaccinated. Get your flu vaccination.
• Protect yourself. Protect your patients. Get your flu vaccine.

The CDC has recently updated posters and flyers for healthcare worker (HCW) vaccinations, "Healthcare Workers! Are your vaccinations up-to-date?" The updated materials reflect the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' (ACIP's) new pertussis vaccine recommendations. They can be downloaded and printed in black and white or commercial quality color from http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/default.htm

FDA Approves FluLaval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved FluLaval, an influenza vaccine to immunize people 18 years of age and older against the disease caused by strains of influenza virus in 2006-2007. With this additional vaccine, CDC projects a total of about 115 million doses of influenza vaccine for the 2006–2007 Season, but these projections could change as manufacturing continues. FluLaval was approved using FDA's accelerated approval pathway. To view the complete FDA press release on FluLaval, please visit http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/ 2006/NEW01478.html .

CDC Announces the Opening of the 2006-2007 Flu Gallery

Are you looking for educational materials about influenza and the flu vaccine? CDC’s Flu Gallery contains educational materials for use during the upcoming influenza immunization season. These materials reflect CDC’s vaccination recommendations and highlight the benefits of influenza vaccination. The Gallery contains print materials such as flyers, posters, and brochures, in color and black and white, English and Spanish. Many of the materials can be reproduced on an office printer. You can also have the materials printed by a professional (offset) printer.

The CDC encourages you to visit the online gallery often because, as vaccine supply information changes, they will upload new materials that address expanded audiences, or new recommendations about which groups vaccine should be directed toward. Additionally, if vaccine supply is still strong toward the end of November, they will post “late season” promotion materials to the gallery which will remind people that it is not too late to get vaccinated against influenza in December and beyond.

The Flu Gallery can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/gallery

Flu Vaccine Distributors

Working with the CDC, the Health Industry Distributors Association has been asked to list ALL distributors that request to be listed on this page, regardless of their membership in HIDA.

HIDA does not endorse, in any manner any of the companies listed on this page. We make no guarantee as to the availability of the product.
http://www.hida.org/document.asp?document_id=10082

Vote and Vaccinate

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) is partnering with the Florida Board of Elections, and individual counties and county Supervisors of Elections to implement a "Vote and Vaccinate" campaign to be held in conjunction with the November general election... (more)

2006-07 Influenza Season Bulletin from the Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Immunization

As we enter the 2006-07 influenza season, it is key to complete preparations and be aware of the most current recommendations.  At the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), please widely distribute the following information regarding influenza vaccine published in Immunization Works Monthly Update to all colleagues, members, coalitions, and partners with an interest in the prevention of influenza.  The complete July Immunization Works Monthly Update is non-proprietary and is available at:    http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/news/newsltrs/imwrks/2006/200607.htm . This information complements the MMWR Prevention and Control of Influenza that was sent on June 29, 2006: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr55e628a1.htm .

CDC has developed two sets of influenza questions and answers (Q & As) to assist healthcare professionals and consumers with planning for the upcoming influenza season. The first set of Q&As provides information about vaccine supply for the 2006-07 influenza season and can be found at www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaxprioritygroups.htm

Key comments include:

• At the current time, influenza vaccine manufacturers are projecting that approximately 100 million doses of influenza vaccine will be available in the U.S. for use during the 2006-07 influenza season. This amount represents approximately 16% more doses than were available for the 2005-06 season. 
• Much of the influenza vaccine was pre-booked early this year.  Providers should contact distributors and local vendors about remaining supply.  An additional 15 million to 20 million doses may be available if a new vaccine is licensed in 2006. 
• CDC anticipates that many providers will be unable to obtain sufficient vaccine to vaccinate all children who are 3 years of age.  During this transition year, all providers may not have sufficient vaccine supply in the preparations indicated for this age group.  If a provider has insufficient vaccine for this age group, CDC recommends that healthy children aged 6-23 months should be prioritized for receiving vaccine because they are at increased risk for hospitalization compared with children over 24 months of age.

The second set of Q & As provides general information about influenza vaccine production, supply, and distribution in the United States and can be found at www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/vaxsupply.htm .

Key comments include:

• At present, the ACIP recommends that 218 million of the 300 million U.S. population receive influenza vaccine annually.
• For the 2006-07 season, the ACIP has added to its recommendations all children ages 24-59 months (an additional 7.1 million) and their household contacts and caregivers (about 11.4 million more).
• The existing vaccine production capacity cannot support a universal vaccination recommendation.
• The ACIP voted to remove prioritization as the default of influenza vaccination.  The prioritization scheme will become a contingency plan and will only be implemented if vaccine supply or distribution problems emerge.
• CDC is working closely with manufacturers, distributors, and key public health organizations to improve the influenza vaccine tracking process. 

The complete MMWR report on composition of the trivalent influenza vaccine for the United States for the 2006--07 Season can be found at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5523a2.htm . Please call Cameron Noblit if you have questions regarding VFC (Vaccines for Children) influenza vaccine supplies and Phyllis Yambor at 850-245-4342 for questions regarding the vaccine recommendations.

Prevention and Control of Influenza Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) MMWR -- Early Release June 28, 2006 / Vol. 55

At the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), please ensure that the following information regarding the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Prevention and Control of Influenza Recommendations is widely disseminated to all colleagues, members, coalitions, and partners with an interest in influenza vaccination. This report updates the 2005 recommendations by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) regarding the use of influenza vaccine and antiviral agents. The pdf is linked below. The 2006 recommendations include new and updated information. Principal changes include:

1. Recommending vaccination of children aged 24-59 months and their household contacts and out-of-home caregivers against influenza.
2. Highlighting the importance of administering 2 doses of influenza vaccine for children aged 6 months-<9 years who were previously unvaccinated.
3. Advising health-care providers, those planning organized campaigns, and state and local public health agencies to develop plans for expanding outreach and infrastructure to vaccinate more persons than the previous year and develop contingency plans for the timing and prioritization of administering influenza vaccine, if the supply of vaccine is delayed and/or reduced.
4. Reminding providers that they should routinely offer influenza vaccine to patients throughout the influenza season.
5. Recommending that neither amantadine nor rimantadine be used for the treatment or chemoprophylaxis of influenza A in the United States until evidence of susceptibility to these antiviral medications has been re-established among circulating influenza A viruses.
6. Using the 2006-07 trivalent influenza vaccine virus strains.

Persons for whom annual vaccination is recommended:

• Children aged 6-59 months
• Women who will be pregnant during the influenza season
• Persons aged >50 years
• Children and adolescents (aged 6 months-18 years) who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy and, therefore, might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza infection
• Adults and children who have chronic disorders of the pulmonary or cardiovascular systems, including asthma (hypertension is not considered a high-risk condition)
• Adults and children who have required regular medical follow-up or hospitalization during the preceding year because of chronic metabolic diseases (including diabetes mellitus), renal dysfunction, hemoglobinopathies, or immunodeficiency (including immunodeficiency caused by medications or by human immunodeficiency virus)
• Adults and children who have any condition (e.g., cognitive dysfunction, spinal cord injuries, seizure disorders
• or other neuromuscular disorders) that can compromise respiratory function or the handling of respiratory secretions, or that can increase the risk for aspiration
• Residents of nursing homes and other chronic-care facilities that house persons of any age who have chronic medical conditions
• Persons who live with or care for persons at high risk for influenza-related complications, including healthy household contacts and caregivers of children aged 0-59 months
• Health-care workers.

To access the CDC document, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/rr/rr55e628.pdf [375K PDF]

Inactivated Influenza and Live, Intranasal Influenza Vaccine Information Statement (VIS)

The Bureau of Immunization is pleased to announce the release of the Inactivated Influenza and Live, Intranasal Influenza Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) dated 6/30/06. The 2006-07 version of the Inactivated Influenza and Live, Intranasal Influenza Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) has been posted on the NIP website.

The VISs can be viewed online at:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/default.htm#flu
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-flu.pdf [64K PDF]
http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/VIS/vis-flulive.pdf [57K PDF]

Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) are information sheets produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that explain to vaccine recipients, their parents, or their legal representatives both the benefits and risks of a vaccine. Federal law requires that VISs be handed out whenever (before each dose) certain vaccinations are given. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/default.htm

Joint Commission Establishes Infection Control Standard to Address Influenza Vaccines for Staff

At the request of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), please ensure that the following information regarding influenza vaccinations is widely disseminated to all colleagues, members, coalitions, and partners with an interest in increasing influenza vaccination coverage among healthcare personnel.

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) announced approval of an infection control standard that requires accredited organizations to offer influenza vaccinations to staff, which includes volunteers and licensed independent practitioners with close patient contact. The standard will become an accreditation requirement beginning January 1, 2007, for the Critical Access Hospital, Hospital and Long-Term Care accreditation programs. This effort supports recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for annual influenza vaccination for healthcare workers. (link listed below)

Studies show that influenza causes 36,000 deaths and more than 200,000 hospitalizations on average in the United States annually. Healthcare-associated transmission of influenza among patient populations in a variety of clinical settings has been epidemiologically linked to unvaccinated healthcare workers. Fewer than 40 percent of healthcare workers are immunized each year according to CDC. The new JCAHO Commission standard requires organizations to:

• Establish an annual influenza vaccination program that includes at least staff and licensed independent practitioners.
• Provide access to influenza vaccinations on site.
• Educate staff and licensed independent practitioners about flu vaccination; non-vaccine control measures (such as the use of appropriate precautions); and diagnosis, transmission, and potential impact of influenza.
• Annually evaluate vaccination rates and reasons for non-participation in the organization's immunization program.
• Implement enhancements to the program to increase participation.

The enhanced CDC guidance, drafted by CDC’s Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), recommends that:

• Facilities offer influenza vaccine annually to all eligible personnel, including students.
• Vaccine be offered at the workplace, during all shifts and at no cost to employees.
• Hospitals use strategies proven to improve vaccination coverage. These include:
  • Education to combat fears and misconceptions about influenza and influenza vaccines.
  • Use of reminders to staff.
  • Having leadership set an example by getting vaccinated.
• Facilities obtain a signed form from staff who decline vaccination for reasons other than medical.
  • This tool is designed to help facilities better monitor who is offered vaccine, employee concerns and barriers to vaccination so appropriate strategies can be designed to improve vaccination coverage.

The new recommendations provide strategies to make vaccine more accessible to healthcare workers and to increase influenza vaccination coverage among healthcare personnel as a way to protect patients and staff from influenza. To access the press release from the JCAHO website, go to: http://www.jointcommission.org/newsroom/newsreleases/nr_06_13_06.htm

To access CDC and Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (CIDRAP) documents, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/ RR55xxInfluenzaEarlyRelease.pdf [370K PDF]
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/general/news/ feb1306shots.html
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r060209.htm

MMWR Publishes Influenza Vaccination of Health-Care Personnel Recommendations

On February 24, 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published Influenza Vaccination of Health-Care Personnel Recommendations of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR 2006;55 (No. RR-2).

This report summarizes recommendations of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) concerning influenza vaccination of health-care personnel (HCP) in the United States. These recommendations apply to HCP in acute care hospitals, nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, physician's offices, urgent care centers, and outpatient clinics, and to persons who provide home health care and emergency medical services. The recommendations can assist health-care facility administrators, infection control professionals, and occupational health professionals in optimizing influenza vaccination programs and influenza infection control programs in their institutions. HICPAC and ACIP recommend that all HCP be vaccinated annually against influenza. Facilities that employ HCP are strongly encouraged to provide vaccine to their staff by using evidence-based approaches that maximize vaccination rates.

This MMWR can be viewed online at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/rr/ rr5502.pdf [625K PDF]

2006-2007 Influenza Season Planning

Important Information for Pre-Booking Influenza Vaccine for 2006-2007

It is time for private health care providers to pre-book influenza vaccine for the 2006-2007 influenza season.

Please take this important step now and order the influenza vaccine you will need to protect your patients from influenza and its complications.

Below is a list of flu vaccine distributor/vendor information available to us at this time. The vendor information listed is for private sector entities only.

Flu Vaccine Distributors/Vendors [PDF 22 KB]

Four vendors have already begun taking pre-book orders.

Please note that Sanofi (Aventis) is expected to sell out in less than 2 days once their pre-booking begins as was experienced last year.

Please share this material with everyone involved in prevention of influenza. Many health care providers did not pre-book their vaccine orders this year and, consequently, had difficulty acquiring flu vaccine early in the influenza season.

If you have questions regarding the ordering information, please call Jay R. Francis of Pharmacy Services in the Department of Health at 850-922-4627 x129.