I Raise the Rates! April Edition

I Raise the Rates! - April Edition

In this edition of I Raise the Rates (IRtR) you will find a variety of new resources from various public health partners, unique education opportunities, and a brief selection of popular media articles related to immunization.

Updates from the American College of Physicians (ACP)

Opportunity to Participate in ACP Quality Improvement Initiative to Increase Adult Influenza Immunization Rates

APPLY NOW - Opportunity to participate in ACP's 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 the CDC, Merck, and GSK, 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, and the opportunity to earn more than 54 CME and ABIM MOC credits for program participants. Onboarding is underway so act now! Opportunity is limited, applicants will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis. Please see the attached recruitment flyer for more information about participation benefits and requirements as well as the application link.

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/I-Raise-the-Rates----April-Edition---Layout-Template.html?soid=1124874283215&aid=uMyKdB7UvYQ 1/6 I Raise the Rates! - April Edition View the Flyer by Clicking Here

ACP COVID-19 Vaccine Forum IV, Practical Clinical Considerations

ACP COVID-19 Vaccine Forum IV, Practical Clinical Considerations was the forth in a series of vaccine forums hosted by ACP and Annals of Internal Medicine and was held on March 24, 2021. Two invited experts offered their perspectives on the many clinical concerns related to the COVID-19 vaccines including who should not get the vaccine, equity of vaccine distribution COVID-19 variants and their spread as well as whether or not women who are pregnant should get the vaccine.

The panelists included:

Carlos del Rio, MD, Executive Associate Dean, Distinguished Professor Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine Paul Sax, MD, Clinical Director, Infectious Disease, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Deborah Cotton, MD, MPH, Deputy Editor, Annals of Internal Medicine, served as a panelist and moderated the discussion

View the Forum In It's Entirety by Clicking Here

ACP's Statement on the Raffirmed Recommendation of the Jansen (J&J) COVID-19 Vaccine

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met on Friday, April 23, 2021, and voted to reaffirm the recommendation of the Jansen (J&J) vaccine.

ACP applauds how well the robust safety monitoring system has worked to identify and respond to this issue quickly.

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/I-Raise-the-Rates----April-Edition---Layout-Template.html?soid=1124874283215&aid=uMyKdB7UvYQ 2/6 I Raise the Rates! - April Edition Additionally, ACP would like to provide the following resources and suggestions:

• Please report adverse events through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) and check the CDC’s Health Alert Network. • If a patient presents with thrombotic events or thrombocytopenia following receipt of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine, do not treat with heparin, unless HIT testing is negative. • The ACP COVID-19 Physician’s Guide has been updated and will continue to be updated with the latest information, and we encourage you to check that resource regularly. • Please continue to recommend and encourage COVID-19 vaccination with mRNA vaccines.

Additional information, provided by the CDC, on the Jansen vaccine can be found by clicking the button below.

Access the CDC's Q&A On the Jansen Vaccine by Clicking Here

Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People

This set of public health recommendations for fully vaccinated people will be updated and expanded based on the level of community spread of SARS-CoV-2, the proportion of the population that is fully vaccinated, and the rapidly evolving science on COVID-19 vaccines.

For the purposes of this guidance, people are considered fully vaccinated for COVID-19 ≥2 weeks after they have received the second dose in a 2- dose series (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna), or ≥2 weeks after they have received a single-dose vaccine (Johnson and Johnson (J&J)/Janssen).

To View the Recommendations In Their Entirety Click Here

Featured Articles and Resources -

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/I-Raise-the-Rates----April-Edition---Layout-Template.html?soid=1124874283215&aid=uMyKdB7UvYQ 3/6 I Raise the Rates! - April Edition Pfizer, Moderna Vaccines 94% Effective in Preventing Hospitalization in Adults 65 and Older

Adults aged ≥65 years are at increased risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19 and were identified as a priority group to receive the first COVID-19 vaccines approved for use under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) in the United States (1–3). In an evaluation at 24 hospitals in 14 states,* the effectiveness of partial or full vaccination† with Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines against COVID-19– associated hospitalization was assessed among adults aged ≥65 years.

Among 417 hospitalized adults aged ≥65 years (including 187 case-patients and 230 controls), the median age was 73 years, 48% were female, 73% were non-Hispanic White, 17% were non-Hispanic Black, 6% were Hispanic, and 4% lived in a long-term care facility. Adjusted vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19–associated hospitalization among adults aged ≥65 years was estimated to be 94% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 49%–99%) for full vaccination and 64% (95% CI = 28%–82%) for partial vaccination.

These findings are consistent with efficacy determined from clinical trials in the subgroup of adults aged ≥65 years (4,5). This multisite U.S. evaluation under real-world conditions suggests that vaccination provided protection against COVID-19–associated hospitalization among adults aged ≥65 years. Vaccination is a critical tool for reducing severe COVID-19 in groups at high risk.

Read the Entire CDC Study And Summary by Clicking Here

Blood Clot Risks: Comparing COVID-19 Vaccines with Common Medicines, Travel and Smoking

There are growing concerns around blood clotting from at least two different COVID-19 vaccines.

On Tuesday, Canada reported its first case of a rare blood clot in a person who had received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, the U.S. federal health agencies recommended an immediate “pause” in the use of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose COVID-19 vaccine after six U.S. recipients developed a rare type of blood clotting, called https://myemail.constantcontact.com/I-Raise-the-Rates----April-Edition---Layout-Template.html?soid=1124874283215&aid=uMyKdB7UvYQ 4/6 I Raise the Rates! - April Edition cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), but has since resumed the use of the single-dose vaccine.

In this article, World News compares the risk of blood clots from COVID-19 vaccines against the risk from common medicines, travel, and smoking.

HPV Vaccination Rates Continue to Climb Among Young Adults in US

Although vaccination rates against the human papillomavirus (HPV) remain low for young adults across the United States, the number of self-reported HPV vaccinations among women and men between the ages of 18 and 21 years has markedly increased since 2010, according to new research findings. The findings were published online April 27 as a research letter in JAMA.

In 2006, the US Food and Drug Admistration approved the HPV vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer and genital warts in female patients. Three years later, the FDA approved the vaccine for the prevention of anogenital cancer and warts in male patients.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend two doses of the HPV vaccine for children aged 11 to 12 years. Adolescents and young adults may need three doses over the course of 6 months if they start their vaccine series on or following their 15th birthday.

Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise—Now Come Tougher Trials

A vaccine against malaria has shown promise in early clinical trials, raising hopes that it might one day prove to be an effective weapon against one of the world’s biggest killers of children.

In a trial of 450 children aged 5–17 months, the vaccine, called R21, was up to 77% effective at preventing malaria over the course of one year — which, if confirmed, would clear a 75% effectiveness target set by the World Health Organization. The results are presented in a preprint posted on the server SSRN on 20 April. https://myemail.constantcontact.com/I-Raise-the-Rates----April-Edition---Layout-Template.html?soid=1124874283215&aid=uMyKdB7UvYQ 5/6 I Raise the Rates! - April Edition

R21 is a modified form of a vaccine that has already been deployed in an ongoing study in hundreds of thousands of children in Malawi, Kenya and Ghana. That vaccine, called RTS,S or Mosquirix, is about 56% effective over one year, and 36% effective over four years.

How Healthcare Professionals Can Address Vaccine Hesitancy Among Communities of Color

The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) recently created a quarterly series of roundtable discussions related to health equity, titled NYAM - Around The Table. The inaugural discussion is centered around how healthcare professionals can shift vaccine hesitancy to vaccine confidence in communities of color. Click on the video below to view the entire roundtable discussion.

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/I-Raise-the-Rates----April-Edition---Layout-Template.html?soid=1124874283215&aid=uMyKdB7UvYQ 6/6