Current MCIR News
Centralized Vaccine Ordering and Distribution (COD) is the new vaccine management system that is currently being implemented by the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH). MCIR has a key role in this new process. All VFC (Vaccines For Children) providers are now required to enter vaccine lot and manufacturer information for shots given, as well as vaccine eligibility. This information will be used to automatically deduct doses from the new MCIR Vaccine Inventory Module(VIM). Providers will use the MCIR VIM to regularly count, report on, and order new VFC inventory. In preparation for this new system, here are a few things you can begin doing now:
- Count the number of doses of vaccine in your refrigerator at the beginning and the end of the month.
- Run the MCIR Doses Administered report found under the Report section, VFC, VFC Doses Admin Report, at the end of each month.
- Keep a refrigerator temperature log.
Training on the new VIM is being provided by the Regional MCIR Offices.
For more information about COD, contact your Local Health Department Immunization Action Plan (IAP) Nurse or visit the MDCH VFC/COD website at: http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132-2942_4911_4914-169020--,00.html.
For more information on the NEW MCIR VIM: Click Here
Registration is now open for the Fall Regional Immunization Conferences. Registration began on August 1, 2008, click here for the registration link. Because we are expecting the conferences to fill up quickly, we want to encourage you to register in August, if possible. Click here to see the Conference flyer.
The American Academy of Family Physicians has published a CME Bulletin titled "Using an Immunization Registry to Improve Vaccine Rates." Click here to see the online version of this bulletin and the corresponding quiz. Click here to view:
Stay informed about the latest developments in the rapidly changing field of immunization. Join us for the Immunization Update, 2008 webcast on August 28, 2008, from 12:00 noon to 2:30 pm (Eastern Time). For information on how to access the webcast, click here.
On June 5, 2008, the Michigan Department of Community Health held an Adolescent Immunization Conference at the Eberhard Center on the campus of Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids.
The primary goals of this conference were to promote adolescent immunizations in Michigan, educate providers about newly recommended adolescent vaccines, overcome challenges to vaccinating adolescents, discuss strategies for increasing adolescent immunization rates, and give providers the tools to communicate with parents, pre-teens, teens, and adolescents through college age about the importance of vaccination.
William Atkinson, M.D., M.P.H., of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Amanda Dempsey, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H. of the University of Michigan were featured speakers.
The Adolescent Immunization Conference was videotaped and is now available as an archived webcast. Presentation slides can be downloaded at this website. CME credits will not be made available for the webcast.
If you have any questions about accessing the webcast, please contact Larry Zimmerman, Office of Public Health Preparedness, MDCH, at ZimmermanL1@michigan.gov.\
Conference Webcast: http://mdch.train.org/conferences/imms/adolescent
Influenza sentinels needed to report the who, when and where of circulating flu viruses. The Michigan Department of Community Health urgently needs physicians to join the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sentinel Provider Surveillance Network this flu season. Every year, public health officials from MDCH, in cooperation with CDC and local health departments, rely on front-line medical practitioners to act as influenza sentinels to help monitor the impact of the flu in Michigan. New sentinels are urgently needed for the upcoming influenza season. Click here for further information.
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