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Monthly Newsletter - September 2016
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Immunization Related Events
10/07/16 - McCormick Junior High School Health Fair, Cheyenne WY
10/25/16 - 10/26/16
CDC Pink Book Training:
Click HERE
for more information
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Flu Clinics 2016-2017
To post your upcoming fluclinics to the Immunization website, please click
HERE
to fill out an online form to advertise your flu clinics.
EXTRA! EXTRA Read All About It!
Vaccine preventable diseases and vaccines that is! We currently have copies of the 13
th
Edition Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Disease (also lovingly known as the Pink Book) available at no cost. This is one of the best resources around for all things related to immunizations. Please contact Val at
val.knepp@wyo.gov
to receive your free copy.
Jab & Gab
Statistics
September 2015
380 Subscribers
September 2016
494 Subscribers
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Reflections-Immunization Advocates
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Should I Get My Baby the Flu Shot?
Jude Alden, MBA, CPM, Immunization Unit Manager
We were approaching round three of Baby Ben's shots. By this time we are pros....right? Unfortunately, the more alert he gets, the more he cries and the harder it is on everyone.. That being said, I just realized he is six months old which means he is old enough to the get the flu shot. I am not sure why I see this differently than the other vaccines and feel some hesitancy. He is already going to get three shots, isn't four way too much? My solution, lets wait a month on the flu shot. Yes, we can wait a month, go back in and all will be well. Then my wonderful co-worker brought to my attention that since it is his first time he must receive two. Ugh, the humanity. <read more>
It is the end of September, the start of flu season. If I wait a month, then another month for the second we will be well into the flu season and he will be at more risk. On the other hand, I don't want him to cry more. I know it seems like crying is a small price to play for such protection but when it comes to my child, doing anything to cause him more pain is excruciating to my heart.
After much consideration, we decided it was best to just get him his first flu shot with all the others. So instead of 3 shots there would be 4. We prepared as best we could and kept Baby Ben in good spirits. We were as ready as can be when the Dr. says they do not yet have the flu vaccine. The decision, thankfully, was made for us. This is not always the case for others and although he has received all the other vaccines, it is easy to view the flu vaccine differently. It is a vaccine that changes every year and with the news about the nasal spray how do we trust what is administered?
So the question is why are parents comfortable with some vaccines but not others, and why is the influenza vaccine so highly scrutinized?
I did some research to try and understand my hesitancy. The influenza vaccine changes every year, not to mention there are an endless supply of stories from people who "got sick from the vaccine." It is more difficult to trust a vaccine that changes more frequently than others I suppose even though the entire vaccine is not "new." I spent much time looking through the efficacy studies and methodology, something that we simply cannot expect the public to do. What I found is that I and probably many others make a lot of assumptions about the flu vaccine. The fact is that children younger than 2 years of age are at high risk for serious flu-related complications. This is not a risk I am personally willing to take. At the end of the day the flu vaccine is 66% effective in children 6-24 months which is good enough for me.
So the question is, how do we crush the assumptions and alleviate the fear to ensure we are protecting as many people as possible?
If you have a proven approach to reassure patients that the flu vaccine is valuable and a must every year we would love to hear about it. Email me at jude.alden@wyo.gov. |
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Welcome our new WyIR Support Specialist,
Jennifer Gray!
John Anderson, MA - WyIR Coordinator
It is my pleasure to introduce Jennifer Gray as our new WyIR Support Specialist. Within that role, she will be focusing primarily on ensuring the data quality of the inbound HL7 messages from the connecting immunization providers in Wyoming.
Jennifer (or Jenni, as she prefers) brings to the team a background in healthcare and program management. Jenni has worked in three major healthcare systems across Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska. In that experience, she worked in a variety of Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems and in positions working directly with providers, patients, and payors. She is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado where she double majored Bachelors of Arts in Sociology with emphasis in Family Studies and Psychology. She has also served in the United States Navy. In her spare time, Jenni enjoys traveling, outdoor activities, jogging, softball, knitting, and crocheting. She has a passion for animals, learning, and volunteering in the community. We know she will make a valuable addition to our team - please welcome Jenni to the Program!
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30 Day Exclusion for Schools and Child Caring Facilities
Jude Alden, MBA, CPM, Immunization Unit Manager
As a reminder, we are near or at the exclusion date to restrict attendance for children whom which documentary proof of immunization has not been provided. Parents and guardians are responsible for providing schools and child caring facilities with proof of immunizations upon entry (first day of attendance). If documentary proof of immunization is not provided within thirty (30) calendar days, school and child caring facility administrators must not allow children to continue attendance until documentary proof is received.
Schools and Child Caring facilities should collect immunization records upon a child's entry to prevent last minute requests for information, an increase in exemptions, and the need to restrict attendance.
How a school chooses to communicate a child's exclusion is up to the school administrator. If you have any questions about this topic, please do not hesitate to contact the Immunization Unit.
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VFC Influenza Now Available to Order
Kristy Westfall, VFC Coordinator
We are pleased to announce that VFC Influenza is now available to order. VFC Influenza orders can be placed at any time throughout the month and orders will be processed every Monday.
It is very important to be conservative when ordering influenza vaccines in order to prevent excess waste. It is recommended that providers order weekly or bi-weekly and not order for the entire season. If a large volume of influenza is ordered, the order may be reduced to ensure adequate supply for all VFC providers as well as to prevent waste.
If you have any questions regarding VFC Influenza, please visit the
2016-2017 Flu Season
webpage of the Immunization Program website or contact me at:
Kristy.Westfall1@wyo.gov
or
307-777-2413
.
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16-17 Influenza WyIR Cheat Sheet
Kristy Westfall, VFC Coordinator
The Wyoming Immunization Program has developed the
2016-17 Influenza WyIR Cheat Sheet
that can be used when entering private influenza vaccine into your WyIR inventory. The sheet does include all twenty presentations being offered this season.
The Cheat Sheet is available on the 2016-2017 Flu Season webpage of the Immunization Program website at
www.immunizewyoming.
Please note that currently Seqirus is not listed as a manufacturer in the WyIR. Novartis and Seqirus merged in 2015; however, the WyIR currently only has Novartis populated. Please select Novartis as the manufacturer when entering Seqirus influenza vaccine until the WyIR has been updated to reflect the change.
If you have any questions about entering influenza vaccine into the WyIR, please contact our office at 307-777-7952. As always, we highly recommend that all immunizations administered by your facility are documented in the WyIR including adult patients as well as immunizations administered using private vaccine stock.
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Wyoming Immunization Registry (WyIR)
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WyIR User Management - changes as of 10/01/16
John Anderson, MA
Periodically, policies and procedures are reviewed as a part of a quality assurance process, as we look at ways to increase the efficiency of WyIR operations. Upon a recent review of the WyIR Rules & Regulations (WyIR R&R), it was revealed that how we currently process WyIR Access (i.e., local control with users added by WyIR Facility Contacts) does not align with the language within the WyIR R&R regarding User Access, in particular -
"WyIR access shall be role based. Authorized users shall be assigned an appropriate Access Level
by the Immunization Section
."
While providing access to the local level may have hastened user access needs, it did come at the expense of users receiving permissions that were not recommended by the WyIR staff. In order to align with WyIR R&R, user management will now be undertaken by the WyIR Help Desk. Instructions will be sent to the WyIR Facility Contact, along with a Google Form for them to complete. By the end of October, user accounts will align with the three basic categories listed within the WyIR R&R: Administrative Access, Read-Only Access, or Read/Write Access. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we embark again on managing user access per our WyIR R&R.
WyIR School Nurse Access - changes in new school year
John Anderson, MA
With the start of the new school year, over 140 School Nurses have submitted the updated WyIR Enrollment Agreement for School Nurses as requested, which provides the school nurse access to the immunization records for their students if the parent/guardian provides documented consent to do so. This documented consent can be provided on the
IZ Unit - School Nurse WyIR Access Agreement
, as well as within their electronic student health record if possible. This year, however, the permissions have changed for School Nurses, as the functionality of the WyIR has evolved in order to align with the WyIR Rules and Regulations (R&R).
Some school nurses have written requesting the ability to view the patient's forecast in the WyIR again. The functionality of the WyIR has evolved over the years, and with the latest version, in order to restrict school nurses ability to add vaccination records (since they don't administer vaccines), the ability to view a patient's forecast is no longer present. We will be researching possible changes to the WyIR to possibly allow this option again in the future, but for now, due to the limitations of the system, and in order to meet the intention of the WyIR Rules, school nurses are now limited to viewing the immunization records for their students and printing out an official record if neede
d.
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Annual Immunization Assessment
Val Knepp, RN, Clinical & AFIX Specialist
The 2016 Immunization Assessment is up and running! The Assessment opened on Saturday, October 1st in Survey Monkey and assesses vaccination levels of children, with the vaccines required for childcare and school entry by W.S. § 21-4-309. It also collects data on the number and type of exemptions. All schools and child care facilities are required to complete the Assessment for all children enrolled.
For child care facilities, vaccines included are Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP/DTP/DT/Td), Polio (IPV), Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Hepatitis B, Hib and Varicella. For grade school students these include Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP/DTP/DT/Td), Polio (IPV), Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Hepatitis B and Varicella.
And finally, for those in secondary grades these include Polio (IPV), Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), Hepatitis B, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Pertussis (Tdap) and Varicella.
The Wyoming Immunization Program is required to share this data with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and also plans to share the results of the Assessment via our website with graphs, tables and maps.This data will be useful in determining pockets of under immunized children as well as areas with high numbers of exemptions.
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Woe is Me and Hepatitis B
Val Knepp, RN, Clinical & AFIX Specialist
It all began in early September; teachers were back in their classrooms, kids were back
at their desks, and school nurses were back in their offices looking at student's immunization records using their school's Student Information System (SIS). This normally straightforward task turned into an outright nightmare for many.
Come to find out, many school districts had implemented upgrades to the immunization application in their SIS's. One key feature in doing so was that now this application identifies invalid doses of administered vaccines. All of a sudden, after years of being compliant with the Hepatitis B vaccination series, a myriad of students were now showing as not-compliant because one or more of the doses they received were not valid.
<<read more>>
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You Call the Shots! Varicella Online Training Module Updated!
LaChel May,CPM, Compliance Specialist
You Call the Shots
is an interactive, web-based immunization training course offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It consists of a series of modules that discuss vaccine-preventable diseases and explains the latest recommendations for vaccine use. Each module provides learning opportunities, self-test practice questions, reference and resource materials, and an extensive glossary.
Click the link below to access the newest module offered on Varicella. You can also access the many other training modules available including Storage & Handling as well as vaccine-specific training modules including: Rotavirus, DTaP, Tdap, Hepatitis B, and more!
Vaccine Coordinators don't forget to add any of these training sessions that you complete to your Staff Training Log!
The Importance of Vaccine Documentation in the WyIR
LaChel May, CPM, Compliance Specialist
Patients can get their vaccines from many different healthcare professionals including primary care doctors, pharmacies, immunization clinics, and many other sources. Because of this, having an accurate record of what immunizations patients have received versus what they need can be challenging, but it is very important. To ensure patients get the vaccines they need and to prevent unnecessary vaccination, healthcare professionals should:
* Record vaccinations in the patient's medical record
* Provide documentation of vaccines received to the patient after they are administered
* Document immunizations in the Wyoming Immunization Registry (WyIR)
Not having accurate immunization records could lead to unnecessary vaccinations or worst case scenario - leaving someone vulnerable to vaccine preventable diseases due to non-vaccination. Even if your facility does not administer vaccines, it is recommended that you educate all of your patients on the importance of getting immunized and provide recommendations of where they can go to get immunizations.
For more information on the importance of vaccine documentation and additional documentation resources, check out the CDC's
Vaccine Documentation
resource.
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Our next newsletter will be released in October 2016
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WYOMING DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, IMMUNIZATION UNIT
6101 Yellowstone Road, Suite 420, Cheyenne, WY 82002
307-777-7952 FAX: 307-777-3615
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Copyright © 2016. All Rights Reserved.
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