The June 23 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting included a discussion about cases of myocarditis/pericarditis after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination and considerations of the need for booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines. There were no votes during this meeting.

• ACIP voting members discussed the risks and benefits of vaccinating adolescents with the risk of myocarditis. Voting members agreed that the benefits continue to outweigh the harms, but continued monitoring of this inflammatory condition is needed with additional race/ethnicity data and additional data on myocarditis risk after dose one vs. dose two of mRNA vaccines.
• There is currently not enough data to recommend booster doses. Populations to monitor include adults 65 years of age and older, immunocompromised individuals, and healthcare personnel.. After discussion, the general ACIP consensus was that variants, safety, and specific populations need to be monitored and studied further to make any booster dose recommendations. By September, COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers will provide safety and immunogenicity data of booster doses. In early fall, additional data should be available on COVID-19/variant epidemiology. Links to slides below:
  • Myocarditis (Slides)
  • Benefit-Risk Analysis of COVID-19 Vaccination in Adolescents (Slides)
  • Booster Doses (Slides)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Vaccine Fact Sheets for Healthcare Providers Administering Vaccine have been updated as of June 25:

• Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers (Updated) 
• Moderna COVID-19 Fact Sheet for Healthcare Providers (Updated)

Pharmacy Partners Office Hours: As we transition into the next phase of vaccine rollouts and with our regular meetings coming to an end, we have decided to launch regular office hours as an opportunity to provide updates and answer questions that may arise from partners.

• These sessions will begin on Thursday, July 8  at 4 pm, and occur every other week moving forward for the months of July and August. Join here.

• Attendance is open to all pharmacy partners, and although optional, we encourage you to attend so we can provide vaccination updates in Virginia, share best practices, and field your questions and concerns.

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) announced that five pharmacy partners will expand their hours on certain days through July 4 to provide COVID-19 vaccination as part of the National Vaccine Month of Action. A total of 147 pharmacies are offering extended hours on Fridays, representing approximately 2,325 additional hours of vaccination accessibility.

• Please spread the word about the participating pharmacies in your area with your community and patients.
• Those offering extended hours are currently heavily concentrated in the Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Tidewater areas. Providers in other locations, especially rural areas, may want to encourage their local pharmacies to offer extended hours.

• We were recently informed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that they will no longer ship the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in quantities of 1170 to prioritize the larger trays for export to our global partners. All orders already submitted that are set to be received this week will not be affected by this change

Moving forward, all requests will have to be in the following quantities:

- 450 (Pediatric)

- 450 (Adult)

- SSRP (1 - 30 Vials / Adult or Pediatric)

• No orders will be delivered on Independence Day, Monday, July 5 (Federally observed holiday).
• As a reminder, all Small Shipment Redistribution Program (SSRP) requests should be requested through VaxMaX. **Note**: The SSRP is not meant to replace the normal ordering procedures; if a provider is able to handle standard shipping quantities, providers should do so.
• For questions about VaxMaX and its functionality, please visit the VaxMaX Help website as a resource for reference guides and tutorial videos.

Providers administering COVID-19 vaccines to homebound patients must be CPR certified and have the training and tools (such as epinephrine auto injectors) to respond to anaphylaxis in the home, as almost all of these encounters take place outside traditional clinic settings.

Below are some Best Practices for Mobile Units:

1. Set freezer/refrigerator temperature alarms to notify you before the temperature is out of range.
2. With the temperature rising, registration iPads may overheat in outdoor clinics. One solution is to station coolers with ice packs (not actual ice) and routinely rotate the iPads through the coolers to prevent overheating.
3. Only administer one vaccine type (i.e., Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Janssen) at a time (e.g., per day) or keep the vaccine preparation and administration process completely separate for each vaccine.
4. Color code wristbands, stickers, or markings on cars (drive through clinics) to identify what vaccine will be administered if administering multiple types of vaccine.

Use color coded stickers to identify a 15- or 30-minute observation period.

Check out our complete list of updated COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic Best Practices and our Lightning Learnings: Best Practices for Busy Providers!

Upcoming Events

• The Pacific Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Center has rescheduled the “Achieving Equity in a Time of Scarcity: Lessons from the COVID-19 Experience” webinar for 2:30 p.m. EDT on July 1. This presentation will review the experiences of Medicaid beneficiaries and people with disabilities in California and nationally related to vaccine prioritization and deployment. Speakers will also reflect on lessons for policy and practice that will support greater equity moving forward. Registration closes at 11:59 p.m. on June 30.
• CMS is offering We Can Do This COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign Toolkit Webinars:
  • Thursday, July 1, 1:00-2:00 pm ET: Toolkits for Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities - Register here 
  • Thursday, July 8, 1:00-1:30 pm ET: Older Adults Toolkit – Register here

• Three full user guides have been published to the Virginia Immunization Information System (VIIS) Resources webpage here for the most commonly used roles in VIIS (Administrator, Typical User, Client Reports Only). This will be helpful for providers utilizing VIIS.
• CDC has information about Post-COVID Conditions for the general public and healthcare providers, and has new Interim Guidance on evaluating and treating these patients.
• Visit VDH’s Variants of the Virus that Causes COVID-19 webpage and AIM-Talking Points and please share this information with your staff and communities.
• CDC has updated the Prevaccination Checklist for COVID-19 Vaccines Information COVID-19 Vaccines - May 27, 2021.
• The COVID-19 Vaccination Program Provider Requirements and Support webpage has been updated with new or clarifying language related to requirements of the COVID-19 Vaccination Program. This webpage serves as a repository for any updates to the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Provider Agreement including updates to recommendations, requirements, and other guidance related to the program.