MA Adult Immunization Conference 2023

28th Annual MA Adult Immunization Virtual Conference
The Future of Vaccination

Tuesday, April 4, 2023 | 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
This was a virtual conference
Conference website

The 28th annual MA Adult Immunization Conference was held virtually on Tuesday, April 4th, 2023. This year’s conference theme was ‘The Future of Vaccination.’ The overall goal of this conference is to educate Massachusetts healthcare professionals on current and best practices for adult immunization. We discusses adult vaccination efforts in Massachusetts, the latest ACIP recommendations for routine vaccinations, including COVID vaccination, learned how vaccine innovations will affect future vaccination efforts, identified strategies to communicate information about vaccine safety and efficacy, and educated vaccine providers on the immunology of vaccination. Breakout topics included: Immunization 101, vaccine preventable diseases, and dentists as vaccinators.

We are grateful to the many supports and virtual exhibitors of this conference. We also honor the 2023 MA Adult Immunization Champions: The Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center (EMKCHC) Population Health (PHQT) and Nursing staff, for their commitment to diversity, outreach, and advocacy which led to strengthened patient/provider relationships and increased vaccination rates in the Worcester Community.

Conference Welcome

 

Welcome and introductory Remarks
Amy Sgueglia, MSN, RN
MA Adult Immunization Coalition Facilitator

 

Plenary A: How Vaccines Work: The Immunologic Mechanisms Underlying Commonly Used Vaccines
Samuel Vidal, MD, PhD
Instructor in Medicine, Staff Scientist, Associate Physician
Harvard Medical School, Barouch Lab, Center for Virology & Vaccine Research, Brigham & Women’s Hospital

During this introductory vaccinology session, we reviewed the primary innate and adaptive immune mechanisms that are stimulated by vaccination and underlying protective immunity to common infectious diseases. Attendees acquired sufficient knowledge to understand the main mechanisms of vaccine-induced protection and convey these principles to the public.

Plenary B: The Future of Vaccines
Julie Louise Gerberding, MD, MPH
Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for the National Institutes of Health

This presentation discussed the future of vaccination including vaccine innovations and how vaccines may impact future pandemics.

 

 

Plenary C: Vaccines & BIPOC Women
Synovia Moss, MPH
CEO/Managing Partner, Moss Consulting & Management Group, Inc.

 

 

 

Plenary D: Weathering the Storm: All Hands on Deck Response to Vaccine Misinformation
Katelyn Jetelina, MPH, PhD
Founder, Your Local Epidemiologist Newsletter
Director of Population Health Analytics, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute

Dr. Jetelina described the infodemic and how public health responses are impacted by misinformation. She shared lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and how to prepare for the future. Strategies to combat misinformation were also discussed.

 

 

Plenary E: State Immunization Update
Pejman Talebian
Director, MA Department of Public Health, Immunization Division

This presentation discussed topics specific to adult immunization in the Commonwealth.

 

Plenary F: National Adult Immunization Update & Latest Recommendations
Andrew Kroger, MD, MPH
Medical Officer, Center for Disease Control & Prevention
National Center for Immunization & Respiratory Diseases

Dr. Kroger reviewed the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for adult vaccines. Changes made to the ACIP schedule in the past year were highlighted.

 

Session A: Adult Immunization 101
Laurie Courtney, MSN, RN
Nurse Manager, MA Department of Public Health, Immunization Division

During this session, the adult immunization schedule was reviewed, along with the principles of vaccination, required documentation when administering vaccines, and how to screen patients for contraindications and precautions to vaccines. Vaccine safety, common vaccine errors, and how to report errors & vaccine-adverse events were discussed. COVID-19 vaccines were also included.

 

Session B: Vaccine Preventable Diseases – Not Just for Kids Anymore
Trisha Barungi, MPH
Epidemiologist, MA Department of Public Health, Epidemiology Division

 

Marija PopStefanija, MPH
Epidemiologist, MA Department of Public Health, Epidemiology Division

This scenario-based session covered recent trends in the epidemiology of vaccine- preventable diseases both nationally and locally and provided an overview of current guidance for prevention and control in a variety of settings.

 

Session C: Dentists as Vaccinators – They Why & How?
Rosie Wagner, DDS
Founder, Smiles by Rosie Family Dentistry

The dental office is one crucial branch of a patient’s comprehensive healthcare home and provides a long-term relationship for both preventive and procedural care. With emergency vaccines (such as COVID and flu) and HPV vaccine (which helps prevent oropharyngeal cancer), there are several types of immunizations that should be distributed to as many people in the community as possible. It is well within the scope of a dental provider to administer relevant vaccines, and the procedural and auxiliary components are already a part of running a compliant dental office. If more dentists offer vaccines at their office, more patients will get vaccinated, including those who did not plan on getting immunized or those that would have to surmount barriers to care. The dental office is a convenient, accessible, and welcoming environment to encourage more people to get immunized. This talk covered: scope of care, onboarding and training, and reimbursement limitations to dentists becoming new vaccinators and how we can promote this change in the future to better protect our communities.

Thank you to our 2023 Virtual Exhibitors!

• American Lung Association
• The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
• CSL Seqirus
• Dynavax
• The Immunization Initiative of the MA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (MCAAP)
• Massachusetts Association of Public Health Nurses
• MDPH: Immunization Program’s Immunization Nurses
• Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA)
• Massachusetts Vaccine Confidence Project
• Moderna
• Pfizer
• Sanofi
• The Sylvie Ratelle STD/HIV Prevention Training Center (PTC)
• Vaxcare
• VBI

Thank you to our dedicated Planning Committee:

Alexandra Burke, JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc; Amy Sgueglia, JSI Research and Training Institute, Inc.; Ted Clark, MDPH; Pam Worthington, MDPH; Laurie Courtney, MDPH; Susan Lett, MDPH; Dylan Tierney, MDPH; Pejman Talebian, MDPH; Melissa Enos, MDPH; Angela Kramer, Ludlow MA

Questions?

For information on registration, reimbursement, continuing education certificates, the Virtual Attendee Hub, viewing sessions video on-demand, or any other issues relating to the virtual conference, please contact Conference IT Manager and Registrar, Alexandra Burke at 617-385-3874 or by email at alexandra_burke@jsi.com.

View the conference website here