and Tobi Ash, MBA, BSN, RN, Co-Founders, EMES Initiative

Click here to register for the webinar.

At the conclusion of the webinar, the participant should be able to:

The target audience includes healthcare professionals who provide immunizations to in Massachusetts, including MCAAP members, physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, medical assistants, public health workers, community health center staff, pharmacists and office staff who work in pediatric and adult health care settings.

The Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences, Massachusetts Department of Public Health is accredited by the Massachusetts Medical Society to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, designates this Live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Massachusetts Medical Society through the joint providership of the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences, MA Dept. of Public Health and The MCAAP Immunization Initiative.

This program has been offered by the Bureau of Infectious Disease and Laboratory Sciences, Massachusetts Department of Public Health. A maximum of 1.0 contact hours for this program will be provided in accordance with the regulations governing continuing education requirements for the following Boards of Registration:

Board of Registration in Nursing (CMR 244 5.00), Board of Registration of Social Workers (258CMR 31.00et seq), Board of Mental Health Professions (262CMR 7.00), Board of Certification of Health Officers (241CMR 4.03), Board of Registration of Sanitarians (255CMR 5.02).

Pharmacists may receive up to 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ in accordance with 247CMR 4.00.

Registration is free; pre-registration is required. Click here to register for the webinar.

Contact Cynthia McReynolds (cmcreynolds@mcaap.org).

Season influenza activity continues to be elevated across the country. Holiday travel could result in a spike not only in influenza, but also in COVID-19 and other circulating respiratory illnesses.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posts weekly surveillance updates to its FluView webpage. Included in the update for the week ending November 12, 2022:

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) publishes a Weekly Flu Report which indicates the impact of flu-like illness in Massachusetts, and posts updated data on its Weekly Flu Report interactive data dashboard webpage.

CDC posts preliminary vaccination data to its FluVaxView webpage throughout the influenza season. Flu vaccination coverage for the 2022-23 season as of November 5, 2022 for all children is similar to the estimate at the same time in November 2021: 35.4% compared with 35.3%; however, flu vaccination coverage is 4.9 percentage points lower compared with same time in November 2020: 35.4% compared with 40.3%.

National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) is held each December to remind everyone 6 months and older that it is not too late to get vaccinated against flu. NIVW provides an opportunity for providers to reach out to patients who have not received a flu vaccine yet. Click here to access CDC's 2022 NIVW Digital Media Toolkit.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has created a Flu Toolkit to help providers to promote the importance of flu vaccination throughout the influenza season. The Toolkit includes graphics, videos, sample social media posts, and sample emails. The Toolkit also includes links to articles on its family-friendly Healthy Children website.

Please see the Resource Spotlight section of this newsletter for resources for the prevention and management of respiratory viral infections.

More than 340 attendees participated at this year's MIAP Conference, held as a hybrid event on October 25, 2022.

The MIAP Conference Organizing Committee would like to thank the following people and organizations for participating in this year's MIAP Conference:

MIAP President - Lloyd Fisher, MD, FAAP

Plenary Session Presenters – Robert Langer, Stephen Pelton, Pejman Talebian, A. Patricia Wodi, and Todd Wolynn

Breakout Session Presenters - Rattana Bip, Tricia Charles, Mia Haddad, and Jodi Wenger

Plenary and Breakout Session Moderators – Julie Coco, Joseph Conte, Lloyd Fisher, Cynthia McReynolds, and Paola Sepulveda-Miranda

Unrestricted Educational Grant - Sanofi Pasteur

In-Person and Virtual Exhibitors -

Finally, the Committee would like to thank this year's attendees! We hope to see you again in 2023!

The conference presentations are available on the conference website Speakers tab. Scroll down and click on "View Profile." Presentations can be found under "Speaker Documents."

Each year, the Massachusetts Immunization Action Partnership (MIAP) recognizes individuals or groups that have made an outstanding contribution to pediatric immunizations in Massachusetts. The recipient of this award is an individual or an organization that has demonstrated particular leadership, initiative, innovation, collaboration and/or advocacy.

MIAP congratulates the 2022 MIAP Conference Awardee, the Pediatric Immunization Quality Team of Caring Health Center in Springfield. Team members include Jessica Antonmarchi, Lorna Issac, Andrea Malcolm, Alyssa Manuel, Siobhan McNally, Anfernee Morales, Natasha Rodriguez, Delia Salgado, and Dawn Wright.

Click here to read more about this year's awardee. Congratulations Caring Health Center!

Recently Published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report