'Vaccines on the Go' Free Mobile App

It's easier than ever to get health information. But sometimes, it’s difficult to weed out the "good" information, which is scientifically accurate, from the "bad" information, which is not based on science. This is especially true for vaccines.

In a continued effort to provide the public with information about the science, safety and importance of vaccines, the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (VEC) recently updated its popular, award-winning mobile app, called Vaccines on the Go: What You Should Know, so anyone can access vaccine information wherever and whenever they need it.

• Download the FREE app for Apple devices

• Download the FREE app for Android devices

Vaccine app features

The redesigned Vaccines on the Go: What You Should Know mobile app continues to offer information about:

• Vaccines and the diseases they prevent

• Recommended immunization schedules for children, teens and adults

• Vaccine safety concerns, including autism, thimerosal, and too many vaccines

New information includes:

• How the immune system works, including what happens during an infection or when a person is immune compromised

• Disease and vaccine information related to travel, including descriptions of cholera, Japanese encephalitis virus, typhoid and yellow fever

• Enhanced video offerings, including animations related to how viruses attack cells, maternal antibodies and immunizations, and more

Additional features include:

• Updated graphics depicting disease characteristics, such as levels of contagiousness and typical disease timelines

• An opportunity to receive updates through the app

• Vaccine-related trivia

• A place to record notes or questions for the next doctor’s visit

• Ways to stay connected with the VEC, including sending us vaccine-related questions or signing up for Parents PACK, our free monthly e-newsletter

• Links to a variety of online resources, including booklets and Q&A sheets

Get more information about the new and updated features of the app, described in the December 2019 issue of Parents PACK.

Providers: Get free posters to share with your patients

If you would like to share information about this app with your patients and their families, you can order free updated posters from the VEC. Posters are 8.5”x11” in size, making them easy to hang in waiting or exam rooms or to add to patient information packets.

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App wins two awards

2020 “Award of Distinction" The Vaccines on the Go mobile app was selected among 6,000 entries as an “Award of Distinction” winner by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts in spring 2020, during the 26th Annual Communicator Awards. The Award of Distinction is bestowed on those whose projects “exceed industry standards in quality and achievement.”

PRNEWS Digital Awards The app also earned an honorable mention in the PRNEWS Digital Awards in the Mobile App category. The awards program recognizes the most innovative and industry-altering digital communicators and campaigns. Learn more about the awards. Reviewed on May 18, 2020

WEBINAR: Introduction to 2020 Oregon HPV Vaccination Week!

Oregon Pacific AHEC invites you to register for the webinar “Introduction to 2020 Oregon HPV Vaccination Week”!

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

11:00 AM PDT.

Attendance is FREE and you can obtain 1 CME credit. You can register today at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8294894247996311310.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the webinar. Please see flyer attached for additional details on this training.

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The HPV Vaccination Week Webinar will provide an overview of Oregon's HPV Vaccination Week. After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

1. Understand goals and mission around Oregon’s HPV Vaccination Week

2. Analyze significant data on HPV vaccination and HPV cancers in Oregon

3. Access resources and tools available to improve HPV vaccination rates

4. Strategize participation in Oregon’s HPV Vaccination Week and beyond

5. Raise awareness on the importance of HPV vaccination in community

HPV Vax Week Flyerpdf

HPV Free Toolkit

Feature Article: Why Will It Take So Long to Make a Vaccine against COVID-19?

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia | Published on May 07, 2020 | Parents PACK

By now, most people are aware of the important role for vaccination in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Because this is a new virus, we do not have a vaccine to protect against it. And, while many scientists and companies around the globe have started to work on vaccine development, estimates suggest that the shortest timeframe for having a vaccine is next year. This has left many wondering, “Why will it take so long?”

To get a better sense of why it will take time — and why an estimate of one year is optimistic — it is useful to start with a discussion about how vaccines are made and how long it takes under normal circumstances, before looking at what will change because we are in the midst of a public health emergency and what that means for individuals and families.

Making vaccines under normal circumstances: The process and the timeline

Because vaccines are given to healthy people, they are among the best studied products available. Typically, vaccine development starts not at companies but rather in university labs, where scientists identify what type of vaccine they are interested in creating and what type of animal model will be useful for evaluating it. Animals, when infected, develop immune responses similar to people. Animal models are not perfect, but they offer an opportunity to study a vaccine candidate before it is given to people; these are called “proof-of-concept” studies. To learn more about working with animals in vaccine research, watch this short video.

With a candidate vaccine and some positive results in animals, vaccine development typically moves to a company. The potential vaccine goes through several phases of trials that include increasingly larger numbers of people. All phases carefully monitor vaccine safety, but as the studies progress, they move from evaluating immunogenicity, meaning the ability to generate an immune response in recipients, to efficacy, meaning the ability to protect recipients from infection. To find out more about these different stages of vaccine trials, visit the Vaccine Education Center’s (VEC’s) webpage, “Making Vaccines: Process of Vaccine Development.”

By the time these studies are done, tens to hundreds of thousands of people may have been inoculated with the vaccine. These studies can take 10 to 20 years or more to complete.

Making vaccines during a public health emergency

Obviously, during a public health emergency, we cannot wait for 10 to 20 years, so how does the process change?

First, in an emergency, it is likely that more resources will be put toward the project, so more scientists are able to work on developing a vaccine. For example, more than 70 companies are working on a COVID-19 vaccine, whereas under normal circumstances, fewer than five — and, often only one or two — companies are working on developing any particular vaccine. This means that all of those working on vaccine development can benefit from the findings of their competitors. This builds the knowledge base more quickly.

Second, researchers are able to work together with fewer barriers. For example, in the current COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) is overseeing an international randomized controlled trial in which candidate vaccines can be compared with a single placebo, or control, group. The plan is also written in a way that candidate vaccines can start being tested at different times, and data can be compared. In this way, the trial can help increase scientific rigor and efficient use of resources.

Third, normal processes are likely to be altered as well. This can include eliminating animal model studies, reducing the number of study participants at each phase, and shortening the timeline for monitoring results.

What does this mean for me and my family?

While people are anxious to resume regular activities, it is important that any vaccine against COVID-19 is safe and effective. Therefore, it is important to monitor what is happening with vaccine development, but it will be even more important for public health officials to clearly communicate what is known about any new COVID-19 vaccine in terms of how well it works and its possible side effects.

Likewise, other factors will also be important at that time. People will need to evaluate whether the disease is spreading in their area, whether they have immunity as a result of previous illness, what is known about how long immunity lasts, and whether a certain level of immunity is needed for protection.

With all of this information, public health officials will likely make vaccine recommendations, and families, in consultation with their healthcare providers, will need to decide the relative risks and benefits of being vaccinated.

Resources for more information

• Making Vaccines: Process of Vaccine Development, VEC webpage

• The Challenging Path to a COVID-19 Vaccine, Director of the VEC, Dr. Paul Offit, discussed COVID-19 vaccine development on Science Friday

• Update on WHO Solidarity Trial — Accelerating a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, WHO webpage

• Vaccine Testing and the Approval Process, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) webpage

Categories: Parents PACK May 2020, Feature Article