The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases’ (NFID) Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition (CIIC) has initiated communications and educational activities to coincide with this influenza season. All major initiatives—intended to reach consumers, health care professionals and the media—were supported by member organizations at the Coalition’s first meeting in May 2007. Activities are designed to help advance the Coalition’s mission to protect infants, children and adolescents from influenza by communicating with “one strong voice” the need to make influenza immunization a national health priority.

Key strategies for achieving this goal include:

• Educate health care professionals about Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) target vaccination groups, influenza immunization recommendations and the medical rationale for the recommendations
  
  
• Encourage health care professionals to begin vaccinating as soon as vaccine become available and continue vaccinating well into January and later because the vaccine continues to be beneficial while the virus circulates
  
  
• Educate parents throughout the year about the serious nature of influenza and motivate them to seek annual immunization for their children
  
  
• Promote using every opportunity to vaccinate against influenza, such as well-child or acute-care visits
  

We welcome you to share this information with your colleagues.

The recently published Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition Report, titled Improving Childhood Influenza Immunization Rates to Protect Our Nation’s Children, highlights the need to improve immunization rates among children of all ages and offers strategies for protecting this vulnerable population with increased influenza vaccination.

The Report is available in PDF format on www.PreventChildhoodInfluenza.org with appropriate tools for distribution. Your organization is encouraged to use the Report to help advance the call for improved vaccination rates among children. Below are some suggestions for promoting the Report among your organization’s members and constituents.

• Include a link on your organization’s Web site to the Coalition Report
  
  
• Notify your membership about the Report via a template newsletter article available on the Coalition’s Web site
  
  
• E-mail the Report to your organization’s members and constituents with cover note (available on Coalition Web site) emphasizing the need for increased childhood vaccination
  
  
• Provide hard copies of the Report at your organization’s meetings or events (limited supply available)
  
  
• Reference the Report in conferences/meetings or in influenza presentations

Contact CIIC@nfid.org for more information or to request hard copies of the Coalition Report.

The Coalition has launched a comprehensive, interactive Web site to educate and inform health care professionals, consumers and the media about the importance of annual childhood influenza immunization. It features a “first of its kind” Influenza Risk Calculator for people to learn if they, or people they are close to, should get an influenza vaccination every year. The Web site also features a library of resources and template materials for all audiences located in the consumer and health care professionals sections.

• The media materials provided include standard documents in template form (press release, media alert, etc.), that may be customized to help reach media with newsworthy childhood influenza stories or events. These materials also include important facts about the Coalition, influenza and influenza vaccination.
  
  
• Health care practice materials are for physicians and other professionals to use within their practices, to adapt and share with patients directly. Materials include:
  
  
  • Tips for speaking with parents about vaccination
    
    
  • Educational articles
    
    
  • Reminder messages to encourage parents to schedule vaccination
    
  
  
• The health care professionals materials explain why vaccination for health care professionals is so critical in protecting patients from the influenza virus. With all of the efforts that health care professionals take to vaccinate their patients, all too often they do not get immunized themselves.
  
  
• A Spanish-language Web site has also been created as a resource for influenza-related information, including a fact sheet, frequently asked questions and information about the Coalition. Visit the site at www.PrevengaLaGripeInfantil.org.
  
  

Radio initiatives by the Coalition include a national radio public service announcement (PSA) and a radio news release (RNR), in English and Spanish.

• The English radio PSA features the Coalition’s Chair, Dr. Richard H. Carmona, 17th U.S. Surgeon General (2002-2006), President, Canyon Ranch Institute and Distinguished Professor of Public Health, The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health
  
  
• The English RNR features the Coalition’s Moderator, Dr. Carol J. Baker, Professor of Pediatrics, Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Baker is President of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases
  

Both English radio pieces are being distributed to stations across the country, and urge parents to protect their families, particularly their children, with annual influenza vaccination. The RNR aired on radio stations the week of October 22, 2007, while the radio PSA will air throughout the influenza season, from October through March.

The Spanish Radio Public Service Announcement is being distributed nationally via Univision Radio and CNN Radio en Español and will air on AM & FM stations in key Hispanic markets. The Spanish Radio News Release is being distributed nationally via CNN Radio en Español.

CIIC national public service print promotions will begin to appear in popular parenting magazines, including BabyTalk and Parenting (December/January, February issues), as well as publications aimed at health care professionals, including RN, Family Practice News and Pediatric News (November, December, January issues). Combined, these magazines reach close to 90 million readers. To use either print advertisement in organization newsletters or for mass distribution, please visit the CIIC Web site, www.PreventChildhoodInfluenza.org.

Stay tuned for more updates from the Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition.

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases’ (NFID) Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition (CIIC) was established to protect infants, children and adolescents from influenza by communicating with “one strong voice” the need to make influenza immunization a national health priority.

CIIC members represent 25 of the nation’s leading public health, medical, patient and parent groups committed to protecting children’s health and encouraging wellness.

The Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition initiatives are made possible through an unrestricted educational grant to NFID from sanofi pasteur.

For more information on CIIC or childhood influenza, please visit www.PreventChildhoodInfluenza.org.

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) is a non-profit, tax-exempt (501c3) organization founded in 1973 and dedicated to educating the public and health care professionals about the causes, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. For more information, please visit www.nfid.org.