Monthly Update

June 2019 in Review

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In This Issue…

1. Revised AIRA Bylaws Are Approved
2. Upcoming Webinar: Introduction to MIROW's Repackaged Materials
3. What's New at the #AIRA2019 National Meeting?
4. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Meeting Summary
5. TEFCA Draft 2 IIS Community Comments Submitted
   
6. Measurement and Improvement Updates
7. Recent Information Requests Added to the AIRA Repository
8. Steering Committee Updates: June Recap

Check Out the AIRA Events Calendar for Upcoming…

• Don't Miss Deadlines
• AIRA Events
• Webinars
• Committee Meetings
• AIRA Board of Directors Meetings
• Partner Events

Revised AIRA Bylaws Are Approved

The voting period for the revised bylaws closed on Friday, June 28 at 8 p.m. ET. Because this was a change to the bylaws, two thirds of the voting membership had to approve the changes in order for them to become effective. AIRA currently has 196 voting members; the final tally was 139 out of 153 total votes in favor of the amendments. To summarize, 78% of the membership voted; 71% voted in favor. The bylaws passed and became effective July 1, 2019.

AIRA would like to sincerely thank the voting members who participated in the bylaws election. Your input throughout the entire project has been crucial to its success. We appreciate your time and engagement. 

 Upcoming Webinar: Introduction to MIROW's Repackaged Materials

AIRA’s Education Steering Committee is hosting a webinar on Thursday, July 18 from 1 to 2 p.m. ET to introduce the soon to be released repackaged materials from the AIRA Modeling of Immunization Registry Operations Workgroup (MIROW). For the past year and half, MIROW has been piloting a new process to repackage and reformat a previous MIROW guide to improve readability and make the guide more user friendly for the IIS community. The first guide to undergo this change is the newly titled Management of Patient Status in Immunization Information Systems previously titled Management of Patient Active/Inactive Status In Immunization Information Systems. In addition, a MIROW sub-workgroup developed stand-alone common vocabulary materials to serve as a consolidated reference source for terms used in MIROW guides. 

This webinar will:

• Highlight the repackaged patient status guide and associated materials
• Review the MIROW Common Vocabulary webpage and resources

You can register for this webinar here. The webinar information can also be found on the AIRA website. We hope you will be able to join us.

If you are unable to attend this session, a recording link can be found after the session by using the “webinars” filter in the AIRA repository.

What's New at the #AIRA2019 National Meeting? 

1. Meeting app: AIRA is always looking for ways to improve everyone's experience at the National Meeting. Connect with attendees and sponsors, view the agenda, breakout locations and more. Stay tuned for information about when and where you can download this exciting new addition to our National Meeting.

2. 20th anniversary reception celebration: All attendees are invited to the IIS party of the year. The AIRA community has reached a major milestone and we plan to celebrate accordingly! 

3. Content: AIRA staff work hard to make sure the content presented at the National Meeting is relevant, cutting edge, and beneficial for the attendees. The preliminary agenda is now available. Be on the lookout for the full meeting program in July.

4. Location: Indianapolis, Indiana is a unique and beautiful city that you will want to experience and explore when the AIRA day ends. Check out the AIRA National Meeting website to plan your activities in advance. 

These are only a few of the additions to the AIRA 2019 National Meeting. Each year we strive to make sure our meeting is better than the one before. You can also plan on your favorite things from years past like inspiring plenaries, the running group, networking opportunities, round table discussions, the AIRA gameshow, coffee, snack breaks, and so much more! 

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Meeting Summary 

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met June 26-27, 2019. During the meeting there were multiple and significant votes taken. Below is a summary of some of the key changes.

Human papillomavirus vaccines

ACIP voted to extend the HPV recommendations for men to match the recommendations for women through age 26. ACIP now recommends routine HPV vaccination at age 11 or 12 years; vaccination can be given starting at age 9 years. ACIP also recommends catch-up vaccination for persons through age 26 years who are not adequately vaccinated.

ACIP also voted on shared clinical decision making for individuals 27 through 45 years who are not adequately vaccinated. The vaccine is currently licensed by the FDA through age 45. ACIP now recommends HPV vaccination based on shared clinical decision making for individuals ages 27 through 45 years who are not adequately vaccinated. HPV vaccines are not licensed for use in adults older than age 45 years.

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

In a lengthy and difficult deliberation, ACIP considered three options for the adult PCV vaccine. Evidence has shown little to no benefit of vaccinating adults with PCV13 prior to a dose of PPSV23. However, there are two additional PCV vaccines currently in development that will be available in the next two to three years. Both will initially be for use in the adult population.

ACIP now recommends PCV13 based on shared clinical decision-making for adults 65 years or older who do not have an immunocompromising condition and who have not previously received PCV13. All adults 65 years or older should receive a dose of PPSV23.

Vaxelis vaccine

ACIP voted to include Vaxelis, a hexavalent vaccine currently awaiting FDA approval, in the VFC resolution. Vaxelis includes diphtheria, tetanus & pertussis, haemophilusinfluenzae type b, hepatitis B, and polio.

Seasonal influenza vaccine

The seasonal influenza recommendations were approved with a change to mirror the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations.

ACIP now includes a two-dose recommendation for children who have not previously been vaccinated for seasonal influenza and are age 7 at first dose but turn 8 before the second dose.

Hepatitis A vaccines

With the ongoing hepatitis A outbreaks throughout the country, the Hepatitis A Workgroup of ACIP evaluated the benefits and evidence of recommending Hepatitis A vaccine for all children through age 18. The value of vaccinated children and adolescents would ultimately lead to greater protection prior to adulthood engagement in risky behaviors that might increase exposure to Hepatitis A.

ACIP now recommends that all children and adolescents aged 2 through 18 years who have not previously received HepA vaccine be vaccinated routinely at any age (i.e., children and adolescents are recommended for catch-up vaccination)

Meningococcal vaccine

ACIP voted to recommend MenB booster vaccination in persons aged ≥10 years with complement deficiency, complement inhibitor use, or asplenia, or who are microbiologists at increased risk for serogroup B meningococcal disease who previously completed a MenB primary series.

ACIP also voted to affirm the updated statement “Meningococcal Vaccination: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.” Key changes include all existing MenACWY and MenB recommendations, as well as the proposed new recommendation for MenB booster doses, in a single document. Previous "Category B" language for MenB primary vaccination in adolescents will be updated to “ACIP recommends a MenB primary series for individuals aged 16 - 23 years based on shared clinical decision-making”. Appendices with guidance for chemoprophylaxis of close contacts and management of outbreaks are no longer part of the ACIP statement.

A total of 18 votes were taken during the two-day meeting, the most anyone on the committee could recall taking in recent history. Final recommendations will be published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 

TEFCA Draft 2 IIS Community Comments Submitted

The AIRA membership worked hard on our community response to the second draft of TEFCA (Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement), released on April 19 from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). Comments were due on June 17, and the final compiled comments can be found on AIRA’s website. Also available are the slides and recording from the Town Hall webinar on TEFCA. And finally, all compiled comments for the related Notices of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) are also available; find ONC NPRM comments here, and CMS NPRM comments here.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to drafting, editing, refining and finalizing all these comments so that our views and value can be reflected in federal policy. Please contact Mary Beth Kurilo with any further questions.

Measurement and Improvement Updates

Measurement and Improvement has a new logo! AIRA has developed a new logo for the Measurement and Improvement (M&I) Initiative to support stronger visibility and recognition.  More information about M&I can be found here.

Updated Reports – Quarter 2 Assessment reports for all content areas are now available in AART (the Aggregate Analysis Reporting Tool). Be on the lookout for updated HL7 Testing and Discovery reports. These will be released in late July.

Clinical Decision Support (CDS) – Quarter 3 CDS testing will begin in July. CDC recently released Version 4.0 of the Clinical Decision Support for Immunization (CDSi) logic specifications. In all, 31 test cases were changed in the new version. Version 4.0 will be used in Testing and Discovery as well as Assessment. Along with that, a few other changes will be noticed in Testing and Discovery as the first Discovery reports had some test cases improperly grouped (e.g., pediatric test cases grouped with adult test cases). As a reminder in Assessment, these 31 test cases will be included but not scored during the first quarter they are available. This will enable your IIS to see the results of these changed test cases, but they won’t impact your score. These will be included and scored in fourth-quarter CDS Assessment reports.

 For more information or questions, please contact Kristi Siahaya.

Recent Information Requests Added to the AIRA Repository

Recent Information Requests include responding to the measles outbreak, importing school data, communicating through listservs, and vaccine administration errors. Information Requests can be found by using the “Information Requests” filter in AIRA repository. Information Requests are viewable only by individual members and individuals affiliated with member and partner organizations. Just log in to view these valuable resources! If you have any questions, please email membership coordinator Amanda Branham.

Steering Committee Updates: June Recap