Network News — May 30, 2024

Coalition News, Top Stories, and Events

Other News, Educational Opportunities, and Events

Resources

Funding Opportunities

Coalitions in the News

Announcements

Coalition News, Top Stories, and Events

The National Network of Immunization Coalitions highlights Immunize Colorado

Immunize Colorado is working to protect Colorado families, schools, and communities from vaccine-preventable diseases. The organization mainly engages with the community through its Trusted Messenger Program. The program leaders are trusted sources of information in their communities and use that trust to advocate for immunization and help connect people to vaccine services, specifically in Latino, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, older adult, disability, refugee, and faith communities. The organization’s direct impact has grown exponentially through this program and has allowed it to help improve access to vaccines for those who need it most in Colorado.

The organization also engages with the community by tabling at events across Colorado, including farmer’s markets, resource fairs, baby showers, mobile vaccine clinics, and more. It also engages with Colorado youth through its Youth Ambassador program, which employs three high school students who lead projects that aim to increase vaccine education and awareness.

Immunize Colorado, in partnership with Colorado Families for Vaccines and Latinos Unidos for Vaccines, hosted an Advocacy Day in April at the Colorado state capitol to deliver immunization information to all 100 members of the Colorado legislature. It also has a very active Policy Committee of over 50 members representing stakeholder groups that convenes monthly and votes to support or oppose positions on legislation relating to vaccination and health equity in Colorado.

For the past three years, Immunize Colorado has managed an AmeriCorps VISTA program, the CO-mmunity Corps. In 2023, it placed six full-time national service members at five public health organizations across the state. They served over 3,000 Coloradans through education and access activities.

Every other year, Immunize Colorado hosts a Regional Immunization Summit, which brings together immunization partners from across the state for a day of learning and sharing best practices. Additionally, during alternating years, Immunize Colorado hosts two fundraising and recognition events: S.O.U.P! (Shots Offer Unrivaled Protection) and the Big Shots Supporting Little Tots luncheon.

Immunize Colorado is busy this summer hosting CDC’s Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (“The Pink Book”) Course with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on June 5–6 in Denver, Colorado. Registration is currently open. Other summer events include a community baby shower in Pueblo, Sierra’s Race Against Meningitis in Loveland, the Walk with Autism in Colorado Springs, multiple vaccine clinics, and a backpack giveaway and nonprofit community fair in Denver.

Immunize Colorado hosts monthly educational webinars for healthcare providers, public health professionals, students, community members, and others interested in immunization-related topics. Upcoming topics include how to host school-located vaccine events and parent perspectives on vaccination. See Immunize Colorado’s archived webinars and register for upcoming webinars.

In 2023, the organization ran a respiratory virus season vaccination campaign called COVID, Flu, and RSV: We’ve Got Vaccines for All Three! on its social media channels and will likely continue to run a similar campaign in future years. Visit Immunize Colorado’s accounts on Facebook, X (Twitter), and LinkedIn, as well as its Youth Ambassadors Instagram account.

Immunize Colorado is redesigning the websites for its parent vaccine information campaign, Immunize For Good.

Find out more at the Immunize Colorado website.

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Montgomery County Immunization Coalition holds health and wellness education programs at adult centers

Montgomery County Immunization Coalition (MCIC) is partnering with Active Adult Centers across Montgomery County (Pennsylvania) on health and wellness programs. The programs include an adult vaccine update by Richard Lorraine, MD, Medical Director from the Montgomery County Office of Public Health, highlighting the importance of vaccination in older adults and reviewing the recommended vaccines. Following his presentation, Giant Pharmacy shares tips on various health and wellness topics, including healthy eating, heart-healthy tips, and medication safety tips. Vaccine clinics are offered to all the centers as a follow-up to the education.

As of April, education programs and vaccine clinics have been held at 8 centers, with more planned. The events were engaging, and participants asked many questions, strengthened their knowledge of vaccines, and shared that they would encourage their families to stay current on recommended vaccinations. Most of all, strong partnerships were developed for future education programs and vaccine clinics.

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Louisiana Families for Vaccines hosted a Day of Action in April in Baton Rouge

Louisiana Families for Vaccines, with support from 25 diverse community organizations, hosted “Louisiana Families for Vaccines’ Day of Action” on April 29. Twelve of the organizations hosted resource tables in the state Capitol rotunda, and Representative Pat Moore acknowledged Louisiana Families for Vaccines from the house floor during the event.

In addition, Representative Moore passed a house resolution declaring April 29th, 2024, “Black Women in STEM Day” in honor of Angelle Bradford, who defended her PhD dissertation in physiology that week.

To highlight the importance of vaccination and blood donation, Louisiana Families for Vaccines partnered with LifeShare Blood Center to allow attendees to donate blood and help increase Louisiana’s critically low blood supply.

Louisiana Families for Vaccines looks forward to continuing to work throughout the legislative session and beyond to educate policymakers about the importance of evidence-based public health and vaccine policies.

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The Indiana Immunization Coalition offers opportunity to sponsor/exhibit at its "Inaugural National HPV Conference" in Indianapolis on April 15–17

The Indiana Immunization Coalition (Vaccinate Indiana) is offering an opportunity to sponsor/exhibit at its Inaugural National HPV Conference in Indianapolis on April 15–17, 2025. The goal of this inaugural conference is to invite all U.S. professionals working in the HPV space to come together to learn and share. While many conferences strive to include HPV as one of many topics, this conference seeks to make HPV the main topic. Attendees will enjoy learning and connecting with peers while forming new ideas and partnerships to strengthen their HPV-related efforts.

View the conference website for more information.

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Immunize Kansas Coalition highlighted women’s health during a predominantly Spanish-language conference in Kansas City

Immunize Kansas Coalition (IKC) hosted Entre Mujeres: The Health of Women in April. This was the first Spanish-language predominant conference in Kansas City to take the next step in building health equity by reaching diverse communities across the state. The one-day event in late April, supported by 15 sponsors and exhibitors, brought in 200 people across Kansas and reached tens of thousands with media coverage and digital campaign efforts. To increase access to those in other regions of the state, a bus sponsored by Garden City Community College provided transport for women from western and central Kansas.

The event’s impact was achieved through partnerships, each playing a significant role in removing barriers to transportation, language, health misinformation, and vaccine access.

After learning about how the HPV vaccine protects against six different cancers, community members had the opportunity to be vaccinated on-site.

When asked what contributed to the event’s success, Geovannie Gone, Executive Director of Immunize Kansas Coalition, shared, “IKC continues to find innovative ways to reach our communities and educate them.”

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Vaccine Ambassadors and Kids Boost Immunity team up to increase vaccine access for children and families in Latin America and the Caribbean

Kids Boost Immunity (KBI) in Canada and Vaccines Ambassadors have teamed up to increase access to life-saving vaccines for children and families in Latin America and the Caribbean. Together, they are leveraging their resources and expertise to address gaps in immunization coverage and promote health equity in the Pan-American Region.

Kids Boost Immunity is an innovative online education platform for schools that connects local vaccine education directly to global disease prevention. Students who complete the KBI curriculum and score 80% or greater on an online quiz “earn” a vaccine for those in need.

By joining forces, KBI and Vaccines Ambassadors are making life-saving vaccines more accessible to vulnerable populations in areas where access to healthcare may be limited. The donation of over 92,000 vaccines on behalf of students through this partnership underscores the tangible impact of their collective efforts, demonstrating the strength that organizations have when they work together on common goals.

KBI is made possible through the longstanding support of the Public Health Agency of Canada, the British Columbia (BC) Ministry of Health, the Public Health Association of BC, and the BC Centre for Disease Control. This collaboration highlights the importance of multisectoral support in global health initiatives.

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Other News, Educational Opportunities, and Events

Virtual: Association of Immunization Managers hosts webinar “The State of Vaccine Coverage and Confidence: Insights for the Vaccine Conversation” on May 31 at 2:00 p.m. (ET)

The Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) will host a webinar titled The State of Vaccine Coverage and Confidence: Insights for the Vaccine Conversation, 2:00–3:00 p.m. (ET) on May 31. During the webinar, members of CDC’s Vaccinate with Confidence team will provide an update on the state of childhood vaccine confidence and coverage in the United States. Sean O’Leary, MD, will present high-level takeaways from the recently published clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Strategies for Improving Vaccine Communication and Uptake. The presentation will include information about the scope and impact of the problem, the facts surrounding common vaccination concerns, and the latest evidence regarding effective communication techniques for the vaccine conversation.

Register for the webinar.

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Virtual: Unity Consortium hosts “AIAW24 Results Debrief” meeting on June 6 at 12:00 p.m. (ET)

The Unity Consortium (Unity) will host a webinar titled AIAW24 Results Debrief at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on June 6. During the webinar, Unity will celebrate Adolescent Immunization Action Week 2024 (AIAW24) accomplishments and gather input for next year’s campaign. Be sure to have your organization represented and help Unity ensure adolescents are up to date on recommended immunizations.

Register for the webinar.

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Resources

The Association of Immunization Managers (AIM) is offering three new immunization-related resources, which include:

AIM’s archived webinar, A Playbook for Addressing Health Misinformation: Applications for Immunization Programs and Partners, is now available. During this webinar, Tara Kirk Sell, PhD, MA, and Aishwarya Nagar, MPH, spoke on Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security’s Practical Playbook for Addressing Health Misinformation, which takes a hands-on approach to help public health practitioners, medical professionals, and health communicators recognize and respond to health-related rumors and misinformation. Attendees also heard from Tad Sooter, public information officer at the Kitsap Public Health District, about his real-world experiences implementing the playbook’s concepts and other strategies to address misinformation and build trust.

Access the webinar recording, slides, and resources in AIM’s Vaccine Confidence Toolkit.

AIM’s new handout, Birthing Institutions and the Vaccines for Children Program, developed in collaboration with the American Hospital Association (AHA), highlights how birthing institutions can benefit from joining the VFC program. The handout outlines how VFC participation can ensure equitable access to vaccines, save money, and protect newborns against serious disease from RSV and HBV infection.

View the handout.

The iREACH team at AIM partnered with Neimand Collaborative to document the successes and challenges of REACH recipients working in racial and ethnic minority communities to increase flu and COVID-19 vaccination rates. The iREACH Lessons Learned Report explores ways to strengthen and sustain the partnerships and activities developed over the last few years to create meaningful change in REACH communities.

View the report.

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The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia released a film highlighting Pennsylvania’s role in the history of the human struggle against infectious diseases

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) premiered a new film, Pennsylvania: At the F0refront in the Prevention of Infectious Diseases, at the recent National Conference for Immunization Coalitions and Partnerships (NCICP) in Philadelphia. The 7-minute film was shared during the conference welcome reception at Philadelphia’s renowned science museum, the Franklin Institute. The film highlights Pennsylvania’s role in the history of the human struggle against infectious diseases, spanning from smallpox to COVID-19.

View the film.

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The Public Health Communications Collaborative shares The Public Health Communicators Guide to Creating Accessible Social Media

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Funding Opportunities

Available funding opportunities may be found on the Partnering for Vaccine Equity Resource Hub

Partnering for Vaccine Equity’s Funding Opportunities main page offers a list of open funding opportunities related to vaccination and health equity.

Please reach out to PHEbranch@cdc.gov if your organization has a funding opportunity to add to the list.

See the funding opportunities.

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The CDC offers a three-part Federal Grants Management Training Series

The CDC is offering a three-part, self-guided Federal Grants Management Training Series that provides grantees with the information needed to assist with the successful and compliant management of federal grants and cooperative agreements. This training series is for those interested in applying for federal funds or those who need a refresher course. The course will teach federal grant basics, notice of awards, award budget and sub-recipients, and federal grant management. Following the training, participants will receive a certificate of completion.

View the training series.

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Coalitions in the News

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Announcements

Announcements from the National Network of Immunization Coalitions

The National Network of Immunization Coalitions reminds you of the important ways every coalition can plug into the power of our network:

  • Bookmark National Network of Immunization Coalitions’ Calendar of Events on its website, immunizationcoalitions.org, to learn about upcoming national, regional, state, and local conferences; workshops; and virtual educational opportunities
  • Subscribe to IZ Express, the free weekly e-newsletter produced by Immunize.org, for immunization-related news, new and updated recommendations, educational materials, and educational opportunities
  • Urge your coalition members to sign up for IZ Coalitions Network News, the monthly e-newsletter for the National Network of Immunization Coalitions that features news of interest to immunization coalitions and nonprofit organizations. To subscribe, send a request to info@immunizationcoalitions.org asking to be included.
  • Be sure that your coalition is listed and information is up to date on the National Network of Immunization Coalitions website. To add your coalition or make updates, please email info@immunizationcoalitions.org.
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