Vaccinate Your Family (VYF) released their fourth annual State of the ImmUnion (SOTI) report. The 2020 report examines how strong our defenses truly are against vaccine-preventable diseases and what public health advocates and legislators can do to make our country stronger and more resilient in the face of disease outbreaks and other emerging health threats.

Find a calendar of events and meetings related to vaccines and immunizations at this link from the CDC.

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) released their vaccine position statement. Read their statement here. You can learn more about APIC's vaccine work here.

Check out this Immunization Information System (IIS) graphic from CDC! It shows how IISs help providers and patients by consolidating immunization information into one reliable source.

It’s National Immunization Awareness Month, and stories about vaccines for older adults keep evolving. Read more to learn about why immunizations matter for older people and catch up on these stories. https://strianews.com/shingles-shortage-and-whooping-cough-immunization-news-for-older-people/

Check out this study authored by several researchers, including Dr. Stefan Gravenstein who recently presented at an AVAC briefing on Capitol Hill. The study is entitled Cost Benefit of High-Dose vs Standard-Dose Influenza Vaccine in a Long-Term Care Population During an A/H1N1-Predominant Influenza Season. The study found that the use of HD influenza vaccine in long-stay NH residents reduced total health care expenditures for a net benefit despite HD being more expensive per dose. These cost offsets applied to Medicare beneficiaries residing in NHs could result in important savings to the Medicare program.

Despite encouragement by CMS for Part D plans to provide vaccines without cost sharing to incentivize the use of these preventive services, about 4% or less of Medicare Part D enrollees had access to the vaccines examined in this study with no cost sharing, depending on the vaccine, in either Medicare Advantage Part D Prescription Drug Plans (MA-PDPs) or stand-alone Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs) for CY 2017, with little change since 2015. Read more in this study released by Manatt Health entitled Trends in Medicare Part D Benefit Design and Cost Sharing for Adult Vaccines, 2015–2017.  

American Immunization Registry Association (AIRA) created a series of one-sheet resources to communicate the role and value of immunization information systems (IIS) for use by the IIS community. Check out the resources below: IIS One-Sheets 4 Ways AIRA Supports the IIS Community EHR and IIS (Infographic) How IIS Support a Patient's Journey (Infographic) Value of IIS (Infographic) Why a National IIS Doesn't Exist

Do You Know the Dangers of Flu among Individuals with Chronic Health Conditions? Influenza (flu) is a contagious and potentially deadly virus that can result in serious complications for individuals living with chronic health conditions such as heart disease, lung disease, and diabetes, even when chronic conditions are well-controlled. Estimates indicate that 31 percent of US adults age 50-64 years and 47 percent of those age 65 and older have at least one chronic health condition that puts them at high risk for flu-related complications, including hospitalization, catastrophic disability, and even death. National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) has developed free downloadable resources for healthcare professionals and patients with chronic health conditions about the importance of annual flu vaccination. Download them here.