The June edition of vaccine update features:
a reminder of changes to the meningococcal C vaccine programme
vaccine supply information
vaccine ordering for the children’s flu programme
Come and visit our first pop-up library at Severn Fields, Shrewsbury 19th July 11.00am-3.00pm. Join the library, borrow and return books, get help finding information and evidence, set up an Athens account, find out what the library can do for you and your team.
Laboratory reports from the enhanced surveillance programme for Bordetella pertussis infection (whooping cough) in England, operated by Public Health England’s microbiology services.
New research show that the total cost of the 2012-13 measles outbreak in Merseyside (£4.4 million) was more than twenty times the cost of the vaccinations that could have prevented it (£182,909).
During pandemics, health authorities may be uncertain about the spread and severity of the disease and the effectiveness and safety of available interventions. This was the case during the swine flu (H1N1) pandemic of 2009–2010, and governments were forced to make decisions despite these uncertainties. While many countries chose to implement wide scale vaccination programmes, few accomplished their vaccination goals. Many research studies aiming to explore barriers and facilitators to vaccine uptake have been conducted in the aftermath of the pandemic, including several qualitative studies.
From July this year, single MenC vaccine is to be discontinued in the UK and protection against this strain of meningococcal disease will be provided by other vaccines that contain MenC (Hib-MenC or ACWY). To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
This special edition of vaccine update features:
information on the central supply of the BCG vaccine, and ordering through ImmForm;
advice on prioritisation of local BCG vaccine stock
Since late 2015, there has been a global shortage of the BCG vaccine. To protect those at risk Public Health England has secured a limited supply of BCG vaccine for babies who are eligible.
These documents explain why a brand of BGC vaccine without a UK licence is being used and why it is still recommended.
Public Health England (PHE) is reminding those aged 79 years who have previously been offered shingles vaccine but haven’t received it, to ensure they have it before their 80th birthday.
This poster reminds young people who suspect they might have measles to:
avoid being with immunocompromised people and pregnant women
calling their GP, walk-in centre or accident and emergency centre to get advice before attending
The May edition of vaccine update features:
Article on NIN conference;
Multiple injection site reminder;
MenC dose change in schedule reminder;
MenB and MenACWY coverage;
Flu programme details and resource links;
Shingles coverage and reminder;
New immunisation infographics for European immunisation week;
MMR resource
A special vaccine supply edition for May with details on:
MenC vaccine ordering;
Nimenrix reminder to check expiry dates;
primary infant vaccine;
BCG vaccine ordering
Report on the uptake of seasonal influenza vaccine amongst frontline health care workers (HCWs) during the 2015 to 2016 influenza vaccination programme in England.
Report on the uptake of seasonal influenza vaccine amongst primary school age children during the 2015 to 2016 national childhood influenza vaccination programme in England.
Commentary on:
Turner PJ, Southern J, Andrews NJ, et al. Safety of live attenuated influenza vaccine in young people with egg allergy: multicentre prospective cohort study. BJOG 2015;351:h6291.
Context
The occurrence of epidemics, like H1N1 in 2009, mobilises the scientific community to focus on resolution of problems. For many years, flu vaccination was a dilemma for physicians taking care of patients with an egg allergy. The small amount of egg found in the vaccine was considered a contraindication to immunisation. However, most people with this allergy are young and asthmatic, thus clearly the ones who could greatly benefit from this immunisation. While fractioned administration of intramuscular trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV) was previously deemed safe in egg allergic patients,1 a first publication in 2010 demonstrated the absence of anaphylactic reaction after H1N1 immunisation … To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
NHS Employers and the British Medical Associations' General Practitioners Committee announced changes to the vaccination and immunisation programmes for 2016/17 on 18 February 2016.
This letter is for schools to give to parents/guardians of, either by hand or by post, preferably with an accompanying information leaflet.
Staff can adapt the template by downloading the file to add the name of the school and other details as appropriate, or print as-is, add notes by hand and then photocopy to share.
Influenza vaccination through primary care has been recommended for all preschool children in the UK since 2013 as part of a universal immunisation programme. Vaccination is required annually and effectiveness varies by season. Factors associated with influenza vaccine receipt and those for other childhood vaccines may therefore differ. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
The government has rejected calls for the meningitis B vaccine to be extended to children up to the age of 11 after an online petition calling for the change received more than 820,000 signatures, prompting a parliamentary debate. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
This guide is for healthcare professionals to help report and follow up cases of acute hepatitis B.
Surveillance of acute hepatitis B is essential to target prevention and control activities such as the selective immunisation programme. Public Health England implemented national surveillance standards for hepatitis B in 2007 which provided the framework for reporting of cases from PHE Centres.
The April edition of vaccine update features: GP based programmes for meningococcal vaccines
Change to MenC programme
Vaccine supply and ordering
May Bank holiday supply
New research from the University of Birmingham, funded by the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Cross-Council programme, has shown that flu vaccinations are more effective when administered in the morning.
This special edition of vaccine update features: information on the central supply of the BCG vaccine; advice on prioritisation of local BCG vaccine stock
Immunisation is one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions and a cornerstone of public health. High immunisation rates are key to preventing the spread of infectious disease, complications and possible early death among individuals, and protecting the population’s health through both individual and herd immunity.
Herpes zoster vaccine is effective in preventing herpes zoster disease and this protection can last three years. In general, zoster vaccine is well tolerated; it produces few systemic adverse events and injection site adverse events of mild to moderate intensity.
There are studies of a new vaccine (with a VZV glycoproteic fraction plus adjuvant), which is currently not yet available for clinical use.
In October 2015, NHS Employers, Public Health England and the Department of Health carried out an online survey to gather information about healthcare workers’ attitudes and experiences of having the flu vaccination and infection control. We had over 700 responses to the survey from healthcare workers in trusts across England.
The occurrence of epidemics, like H1N1 in 2009, mobilises the scientific community to focus on resolution of problems. For many years, flu vaccination was a dilemma for physicians taking care of patients with an egg allergy. The small amount of egg found in the vaccine was considered a contraindication to immunisation. However, most people with this allergy are young and asthmatic, thus clearly the ones who could greatly benefit from this immunisation. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
An expert group set up to review the methodology behind the United Kingdom’s decision to restrict access to the meningitis B vaccine to infants under 1 year old will report its findings in June, MPs have been told. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
Influenza vaccination is administered annually as a preventive measure against influenza infection and influenza-related complications in high-risk individuals, such as those with asthma. However, the effectiveness of influenza vaccination in people with asthma against influenza-related complications is still not well established. To read the full article, log in using your NHS OpenAthens details
This edition contains important information about:
vaccine storage and cold chain
administering multiple vaccines in one session
pertussis vaccination schedule changes
rubella susceptibility screening
vaccine supply and Easter holiday details
To determine whether the provision of contingency management using financial incentives to improve hepatitis B vaccine completion in people who inject drugs entering community treatment represents a cost-effective use of healthcare resources. Data on attendance to vaccination from a UK cluster randomised trial. Please contact the library to receive a copy of this article - http://bit.ly/1Xyazai
The Health Committee joins the Petitions Committee in a second oral evidence session to question charities and medical experts on whether the meningitis vaccine should be given to all children.
The Health Committee joins the Petitions Committee to hear from parents, Charities and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), on whether the meningitis B vaccine should be given to all children, not just new born babies.
Public Health England (PHE) is asking people to check that they have received two doses of Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine and to be aware of the signs and symptoms of measles following an increase in confirmed cases over the past few weeks.
Vaccine coverage data estimates and commentary relating to the national MenACWY vaccine, introduced in response to an increase in cases of invasive meningococcal disease capsular group W (MenW) disease.
Currently the uptake of the influenza vaccine amongst Australian hospital staff remains low. While some staff members choose not to receive the vaccine, others may feel decisional conflict around whether to receive the vaccine or not. Having access to information that is personalized to the staff members’ concerns may alleviate this conflict. Our study aimed to explore the attitudes of hospital staff towards an online decision aid (DA), which focuses on influenza and the vaccine. We were also interested to examine whether they accepted the new tool and whether they had any suggestions for improvements.
A universal routine herpes zoster (shingles) vaccination programme for adults aged over 70 years started in September 2013.
The aim of the universal vaccination programme is to reduce the incidence and severity of shingles disease in older people.
Public Health England has added an FAQ for health professionals to existing information about the programme.
These tables present provisional data for the uptake of the seasonal influenza vaccine in GP registered patients in England from 1 September 2015 to 31 January 2016.
Vaccine coverage data estimates and commentary relating to the national infant Meningococcal B (MenB) immunisation programme, introduced from 1 September 2015.
Reports present data generated by a temporary sentinel surveillance system. The system extracts monthly coverage data directly from GP systems for infants evaluated at six months of age.
This edition of vaccine update includes updates on:
first estimates of Meningococcal B immunisation coverage;
details of rotavirus and pertussis immunisation coverage;
essential vaccine supply information for the current programmes;
details of the updated shingles patient group direction template
Objectives The human papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation programme in England was introduced in 2008. Monitoring changes in type-specific HPV prevalence allows assessment of the population impact of this vaccination programme.
Conclusions Flu vaccine delivery through pharmacies shows potential for improving convenience for vaccine recipients. However, there is no evidence that vaccination uptake increases and the use of 2 separate recording systems leads to time-consuming data entry and missing vaccine record data.
Two £25 vouchers are up for grabs in the library’s ‘Making the Most of Information’ survey.
To take part, just visit http://goo.gl/AdN4ok by Friday 19th February.
Throughout January, trusts submitted their entries for the flu fighter monthly reward scheme for the most innovative mythbusting used in local flu campaigns.
Congratulations!
We are proud to announce NHS Blood and Transplant as the winners for the final reward scheme of the 2015/16 season.
NHS Blood and Transplant
This special health authority supplies blood to hospitals in England and North Wales, as well as solid organs across the UK. The trust has been crowned as the winners for its work in surveying their frontline staff to identify circulating flu myths. The team then used this information to create screensavers and staff case studies to emphasise that the flu is more than just a bad cold.
This patient group direction (PGD) template is to support the national pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine (13-valent, adsorbed) (PCV) vaccination programme for individuals from 8 weeks to under 2 years of age. It is valid from 1 February 2016 to 31 January 2018.
This patient group direction (PGD) template is to support the national Haemophilus influenzae type b and meningococcal C conjugate vaccination programme for individuals from 12 months to under 10 years of age. It is valid from 1 February 2016 to 31 January 2018.
This edition of vaccine update contains updates on:
News about vaccine supply including BCG
National survey of parental attitudes to immunisation;
National Immunisation Network meeting details
These tables present provisional data for the uptake of the seasonal influenza vaccine in GP registered patients in England from 1 September 2015 to 31 December 2015.
JUST FOUR IN 10 PREGNANT WOMEN ACCEPTED the offer of flu vaccination during the 2014/15 winter season.
The low take up is despite figures showing that 36 pregnant women died from certain strains of flu in the UK and Ireland between 2009-12, accounting for one in 11 of all maternal deaths during this period. To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
Myth #1: Having the vaccine will harm my baby
Myth #2: I'm too early/late in my pregnancy to get the vaccine
Myth #3: Flu isn't that serious. I'll just deal with it
Myth #4: The flu vaccine doesn't work, so why bother?
Myth #5: The flu vaccine will give me flu
Myth #6: I had the flu vaccine last year, I don't need it again
Myth #7 I haven't received an invitation so I don't think I need the vaccine [Companion piece to 'Flu vaccination in pregnancy protects both mothers and babies'] To read the full article, log in using your NHS Athens
The January special edition includes important information about:
last orders of LAIV (FluMist® Quadrivalent) for the childhood flu programme;
expiration dates for LAIV vaccine
During 2014 London immunisation commissioners pondered how to improve uptake of vaccines in teenagers and adults, whilst trying to bring an efficiency.
Most of our feedback, mainly from social media and patient-groups, suggested that busy teenagers and adults wanted to get several vaccines during the same appointment and so commissioner created the immunisation ‘dovetail’ model of delivery – giving several vaccines (obviously not any that might be contra-indicated to any other) in community-based and alternative providers.
News from our partners Public Health England
Public Health England (PHE) in the West Midlands is calling for students to get the MenACWY vaccine as cases of meningococcal disease – that can lead to meningitis and septicaemia (blood poisoning) – are anticipated to spike in the winter months.
All teenagers aged 18 and 19 (born between 1 September 1996 and 31 August 1997) are eligible to receive the vaccine for free, regardless of whether they’re studying or pursuing other activities.
PHE figures show that cases of meningococcal disease peak each year during winter – December through to March.
The December edition features:
Full details on Christmas and New Year vaccine supply
Shingles coverage and information
HPV coverage and information
National Immunisation Meeting dates
During 2015 the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and its pneumococcal sub-committee have reviewed the adult pneumococcal vaccination programme. This interim position statement outlines JCVI’s considerations. The committee will consult stakeholders before producing a final statement.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has reviewed the vaccination programme for human papillomavirus (HPV). This statement sets out the committee’s advice on extending the programme to men who have sex with men.