| now-available-on-demand-covid-19-vaccines-webinars | Now Available On Demand: COVID-19 Vaccines Webinars | COVID-19 Vaccine | Shared_Content/News/Membership_Memo/2022/september-23/now-available-on-demand-covid-19-vaccines-webinars | <div class="col-md-12">
<div class="col-sm-5 pull-right" style="text-align: center;"><img src="/images/Newsletters/MembershipMemo/2022/september/covid-vaccines-doh-webinars-ondemand-645x425px.png" class="pull-right" alt="COVID-19 Vaccines Webinars Series graphic" /></div>
<h5>September 23, 2022</h5>
<h2>Now Available On Demand: COVID-19 Vaccines Webinars</h2>
<p>Maintaining a patient population immunized against the COVID-19 virus is a large-scale challenge requiring a coordinated effort, one where primary care physicians play a crucial role-more so now that mass vaccination clinics are becoming a thing of the past. Physicians are ideally suited to educate people about the importance of COVID-19 vaccines, communicate the safety and efficacy in an understandable way, address individual concerns, and create a culture of confidence around the vaccines. By leveraging the trust patients have in their physicians, you can help ensure Washingtonians are receiving guidance based on sound science and good medical practice-and help counter the increasing barrage of misinformation circulating on- and offline.</p>
<p>If you haven't already, it's time to embed the COVID-19 vaccine into routine preventive care in your practice. The WSMA has joined the Washington State Department of Health to help physician practices and clinics access the tools and information they need to incorporate the COVID-19 vaccines into their practice workflows and employ effective strategies to engage patients in conversations about the vaccine.</p>
<p><a href="[@]wsma/education/on_demand_webinars/covid-19-vaccines-webinar-series.aspx">Begin CME activity</a>. This activity has been approved for <em>AMA PRA Category 1 Credit</em>â„¢.</p>
<p>The sessions meet the following learning objectives.</p>
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<h3>Strategies to Discuss the COVID-19 Vaccine with Your Most Reluctant Patients</h3>
<ul>
<li>Use effective strategies to engage patients in conversations about the COVID-19 vaccine by addressing their questions, fears, and concerns.</li>
<li>Review real-world examples of how to discuss the pediatric and adult vaccines, as well as booster vaccines.</li>
<li>Outline the key elements of Power of Provider (POP) and the resources included in the toolkit.</li>
</ul>
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<h3>How to Embed COVID-19 Vaccines into Routine Preventive Care</h3>
<ul>
<li>Bill for COVID-19 vaccine counseling and administration.</li>
<li>Access small, more manageable quantities of COVID-19 vaccines from vaccine depots across the state.</li>
<li>Join the more than 65,000 Washington physicians, PAs, and health care professionals who have already committed to educating and empowering their patients to vaccinate.</li>
<li>Leverage the physician toolkit and public-facing resources to help protect the health and well-being of your community.</li>
</ul>
</div> | 9/23/2022 12:00:00 AM | 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM |
| updated-covid-19-vaccines-available-at-no-cost | Updated Covid-19 Vaccines Available at No Cost | COVID-19 Vaccine | Shared_Content/News/Membership_Memo/2022/september-23/updated-covid-19-vaccines-available-at-no-cost | <div class="col-md-12">
<div class="col-sm-5 pull-right" style="text-align: center;"><img src="/images/Newsletters/MembershipMemo/2022/september/covid-vax-vials-645x425px.jpg" class="pull-right" alt="COVID-19 vaccine vials" /></div>
<h5>September 23, 2022</h5>
<h2>Updated Covid-19 Vaccines Available at No Cost</h2>
<p>The U.S. Department of Health &amp; Human Services, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has announced that people with Medicare, Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program coverage, private insurance coverage, or no health coverage can get COVID-19 vaccines, including the updated Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines, at no cost for as long as the federal government continues purchasing and distributing these COVID-19 vaccines. </p>
<p>The FDA has authorized the Moderna and Pfizer updated bivalent vaccines that target the original COVID-19 viral strain and two omicron variants (BA.4/BA.5) that are currently the most prevalent in the U.S. Individuals are eligible for their updated vaccine shot at least two months after completing at least their primary vaccination series (two doses of Pfizer, Moderna, or Novavax, or one dose of Johnson &amp; Johnson)-regardless of how many monovalent COVID-19 boosters they have received to date. </p>
<p>CMS issued four new CPT codes effective Aug. 31, 2022: </p>
<p>Code 91312 for Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent Product: </p>
<ul>
<li>Long descriptor: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (coronavirus disease [COVID-19]) vaccine, mRNA-LNP, bivalent spike protein, preservative free, 30 mcg/0.3 mL dosage, tris-sucrose formulation, for intramuscular use </li>
<li>Short descriptor: SARSCOV2 VAC BVL 30MCG/0.3ML </li>
</ul>
<p>Code 91313 for Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent Product: </p>
<ul>
<li>Long descriptor: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (coronavirus disease [COVID-19]) vaccine, mRNA-LNP, spike protein, bivalent, preservative free, 50 mcg/0.5 mL dosage, for intramuscular use </li>
<li>Short descriptor: SARSCOV2 VAC BVL 50MCG/0.5ML </li>
</ul>
<p>Code 0124A for Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent - Administration - Booster Dose: </p>
<ul>
<li>Long descriptor: Immunization administration by intramuscular injection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (coronavirus disease [COVID-19]) vaccine, mRNA-LNP, bivalent spike protein, preservative free, 30 mcg/0.3 mL dosage, tris-sucrose formulation, booster dose </li>
<li>Short descriptor: ADM SARSCV2 BVL 30MCG/.3ML B </li>
</ul>
<p>Code 0134A for Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, Bivalent - Administration - Booster Dose: </p>
<ul>
<li>Long descriptor: Immunization administration by intramuscular injection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (coronavirus disease [COVID-19]) vaccine, mRNA-LNP, spike protein, bivalent, preservative free, 50 mcg/0.5 mL dosage, booster dose </li>
<li>Short descriptor: ADM SARSCV2 BVL 50MCG/.5ML B </li>
</ul>
<p>Visit the <a href="https://www.cms.gov/covidvax-provider">COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Toolkit</a> for more information, and get the <a href="https://www.cms.gov/medicare/medicare-part-b-drug-average-sales-price/covid-19-vaccines-and-monoclonal-antibodies">most current list of billing codes, payment allowances, and effective dates</a>. Note: You may need to refresh your browser if you recently visited this webpage. </p>
</div> | 9/23/2022 12:00:00 AM | 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM |
| cdc-call-to-action-add-routine-and-covid-19-vaccinations-to-back-to-school-checklist | CDC Call to Action: Add Routine & COVID-19 Vaccinations to Back-to-School Checklist | COVID-19 Vaccine | Shared_Content/News/Latest_News/2022/cdc-call-to-action-add-routine-and-covid-19-vaccinations-to-back-to-school-checklist | <div class="col-md-12">
<div class="col-sm-5 pull-right" style="text-align: center;"><img src="/images/Newsletters/latest-news/2022/august/boy-with-mask-645x425px.jpg" class="pull-right" alt="boy wearing mask" /></div>
<h5>September 9, 2022</h5>
<h2>CDC Call to Action: Add Routine &amp; COVID-19 Vaccinations to Back-to-School Checklist</h2>
<p><em>By José R. Romero, MD, Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</em></p>
<p>Late summer is usually a time many families begin preparing to send their children back to school. This is a crucial time when physicians need to communicate with families to add routine childhood and COVID-19 vaccinations to their back-to-school checklist.</p>
<p>During the 2020-2021 school year, vaccination coverage among kindergarteners nationwide dropped more than 1%. With most schools now back to in-person learning, efforts must be made to ensure:</p>
<ul>
<li>All school-aged children are up to date on their routine vaccines and have received recommended COVID-19 vaccines.</li>
<li>Routine vaccination coverage is equitably distributed and sufficiently high to protect children, their families, and their communities against vaccine-preventable diseases.</li>
</ul>
<p>Physicians are trusted sources of information for parents and guardians. They can also help families make the informed decision to vaccinate. Here are some ways they can help catch school-aged children up on vaccination.</p>
<h3>Physicians can help make vaccines more accessible</h3>
<p><img src="/images/Newsletters/latest-news/2022/august/cdc-child-vax-20-21.png" class="pull-right" alt="vaccine statistics graph" style="width: 475px;" /></p>
<ul>
<li>Send reminders to families whose children are behind on well-child visits and routine vaccination.</li>
<li>Notify families when children are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines. Tell them where they can find COVID-19 vaccines for their children if they're not offered in the office or clinic.</li>
<li>Offer vaccination-only appointments or hold vaccination clinics.</li>
<li>Administer COVID-19 vaccines at the same time as other routinely recommended vaccines, if recommended and appropriate.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Help share the facts</h3>
<p>Catch-up vaccination will require efforts from health care systems, physicians, schools, state and local governments, and families by sharing the facts about routine and COVID-19 vaccines and answering families' questions using resources such as CDC's <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/hcp/pediatrician/quick-guide.html">Quick Conversation Guide on COVID-19 Vaccines for Children</a>.</p>
<h3>Facts about routine vaccines</h3>
<ul>
<li>Vaccines are <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/FAQs.html">safe and effective</a> for your child to receive at the recommended age, and at the recommended dose.</li>
<li>Did you know your child may be eligible for free vaccines? CDC's <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/parents/index.html">Vaccines for Children program</a> helps provide free vaccines to children who qualify.</li>
<li>Getting your young child vaccinated may reduce disruptions to child care and in-person learning and activities</li>
</ul>
<h3>Facts about COVID-19 vaccines</h3>
<ul>
<li>Clinical trials and ongoing safety monitoring show that <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/vaccine-safety-children-teens.html">COVID-19 vaccines are safe</a> for children 6 months and older.</li>
<li>Emerging evidence indicates people can get added protection by getting vaccinated after having been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. So even if a child has had COVID-19, they should still get vaccinated.</li>
<li>COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines can be given at the same visit.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Physicians should make strong recommendations</h3>
<p>Physicians should be encouraged to use every visit, including well-child checks, sports physicals, and other appointments, as an opportunity to administer COVID-19 vaccines, as well as other vaccines that are due or might have been missed because of pandemic-related disruptions. Routine vaccination and well-child visits or check-ups are all key to helping keep children safely in school, child care, and participating in other activities.</p>
<p>Fewer children have been sick with COVID-19 compared to adults, but they can be infected with and spread the virus. There is no way to tell in advance if a child will get a severe or mild case.</p>
<p>Vaccinating children is the single best way to protect them from <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html">post-COVID conditions</a> and severe illness associated with COVID-19. Health departments have reported thousands of cases of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mis/mis-c.html">multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children</a> since the beginning of the pandemic. Vaccination reduces the likelihood of MIS-C in children ages 12-18 years by 91%.</p>
<p>According to the CDC <a href="https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations_vacc-people-additional-dose-totalpop">COVID Data Tracker</a>, 75% of children 12-18 years of age are fully vaccinated, and 50% of those children have received a booster dose. For kids 5 and older, 71% are fully vaccinated, and 48% of those kids have received a booster dose. Rates dropped for both fully vaccinated and boosters in younger children.</p>
<p>Vaccination is critical to helping protect those disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. They include children from certain racial and ethnic minority groups and children with disabilities.</p>
<p>Help us protect children by doing what you can to get kids caught up on recommended vaccines.</p>
<p>This summer, the WSMA joined the Washington State Department of Health to help physician practices and clinics access the tools and information they need to incorporate the COVID-19 vaccines into their practice workflows and employ effective strategies to engage patients in conversations about the vaccine. <a href="[@]wsma/education/on_demand_webinars/covid-19-vaccines-webinar-series.aspx">Access recordings of the webinars</a>. This activity has been approved for <em>AMA PRA Category 1 Credit</em>â„¢. </p>
</div> | 9/9/2022 12:00:00 AM | 1/1/0001 12:00:00 AM |