Cost effectiveness and decision analysis for national airport screening options to reduce risk of COVID-19 introduction in Uganda, 2020.

INTRODUCTION: Early during the COVID-19 outbreak, various approaches were utilized to prevent COVID-19 introductions from incoming airport travellers. However, the costs and effectiveness of airport-specific interventions have not been evaluated. METHODS: We evaluated policy options for COVID-19-specific interventions at Entebbe International Airport for costs and impact on COVID-19 case counts, we took the government payer perspective. Policy options included; (1)no screening, testing, or mandatory quarantine for any incoming traveller; (2)mandatory symptom screening for all incoming travellers with RT-PCR testing only for the symptomatic and isolation of positives; and (3)mandatory 14-day quarantine and one-time testing for all, with 10-day isolation of persons testing positive. We calculated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) in US$ per additional case averted. RESULTS: Expected costs per incoming traveller were $0 (Option 1), $19 (Option 2), and $766 (Option 3). ICERs per case averted were $257 for Option 2 (which averted 4,948 cases), and $10,139 for Option 3 (which averted 5,097 cases) compared with Option I. Two-week costs were $0 for Option 1, $1,271,431 Option 2, and $51,684,999 Option 3. The per-case ICER decreased with increase in prevalence. The cost-effectiveness of our interventions was modestly sensitive to the prevalence of COVID-19, diagnostic test sensitivity, and testing costs. CONCLUSION: Screening all incoming travellers, testing symptomatic persons, and isolating positives (Option 2) was the most cost-effective option. A higher COVID-19 prevalence among incoming travellers increased cost-effectiveness of airport-specific interventions. This model could be used to evaluate prevention options at the airport for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases with similar requirements for control.

Assessment of the Costs of Implementing COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics in 34 Sites, United States, March 2021.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the costs to implement public health department (PHD)-run COVID-19 vaccination clinics. DESIGN: Retrospectively reported data on COVID-19 vaccination clinic characteristics and resources used during a high-demand day in March 2021. These resources were combined with national average wages, supply costs, and facility costs to estimate the operational cost and start-up cost of clinics. SETTING: Thirty-four PHD-run COVID-19 vaccination clinics across 8 states and 1 metropolitan statistical area. PARTICIPANTS: Clinic managers at 34 PHD-run COVID-19 vaccination clinics. INTERVENTION: Large-scale COVID-19 vaccination clinics were implemented by public health agencies as part of the pandemic response. MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURED: Operational cost per day, operational cost per vaccination, start-up cost per clinic. RESULTS: Median operational cost per day for a clinic was $10 314 (range, $637-$95 163) and median cost per vaccination was $38 (range, $9-$206). There was a large range of operational costs across clinics. Clinics used an average of 99 total staff hours per 100 patients vaccinated. Median start-up cost per clinic was $15 348 (range, $1 409-$165 190). CONCLUSIONS: Results show that clinics require a large range of resources to meet the high throughput needs of the COVID-19 pandemic response. Estimating the costs of PHD-run vaccination clinics for the pandemic response is essential for ensuring that resources are available for clinic success. If clinics are not adequately supported, they may stop functioning, which would slow the pandemic response if no other setting or approach is possible.

Stunting: an overlooked problem in Myanmar - an economic evaluation.

OBJECTIVES: Stunting increases a child's susceptibility to diseases, increases mortality, and is associated over long term with reduced cognitive abilities, educational achievement, and productivity. We aimed to assess the most effective public health nutritional intervention to reduce stunting in Myanmar. METHODS: We searched the literature and developed a conceptual framework for interventions known to reduce stunting. We focused on the highest impact and most feasible interventions to reduce stunting in Myanmar, described policies to implement them, and compared their costs and projected effect on stunting using data-based decision trees. We estimated costs from the government perspective and calculated total projected cases of stunting prevented and cost per case prevented (cost-effectiveness). All interventions were compared to projected cases of stunting resulting from the current situation (e.g., no additional interventions). RESULTS: Three new policy options were identified. Operational feasibility for all three options ranged from medium to high. Compared to the current situation, two were similarly cost-effective, at an additional USD 598 and USD 667 per case of stunting averted. The third option was much less cost-effective, at an additional USD 27,741 per case averted. However, if donor agencies were to expand their support in option three to the entire country, the prevalence of 22.5 percent would be reached by 2025 at an additional USD 667 per case averted. CONCLUSIONS: A policy option involving immediate expansion of the current implementation of proven nutrition-specific interventions is feasible. It would have the highest impact on stunting and would approach the WHO 2025 target.

The cost of influenza-associated hospitalizations and outpatient visits in Kenya.

BACKGROUND: We estimated the cost-per-episode and the annual economic burden associated with influenza in Kenya. METHODS: From July 2013-August 2014, we recruited patients with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) or influenza-like illness (ILI) associated with laboratory-confirmed influenza from 5 health facilities. A structured questionnaire was used to collect direct costs (medications, laboratory investigations, hospital bed fees, hospital management costs, transportation) and indirect costs (productivity losses) associated with an episode of influenza. We used published incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza associated with SARI and ILI, and the national population census data from 2014, to estimate the annual national number of influenza-associated hospitalizations and outpatient visits and calculated the annual economic burden by multiplying cases by the mean cost. RESULTS: We enrolled 275 patients (105 inpatients and 170 outpatients). The mean cost-per-episode of influenza was US$117.86 (standard deviation [SD], 88.04) among inpatients; US$114.25 (SD, 90.03) for children < 5 years, and US$137.45 (SD, 76.24) for persons aged ≥5 years. Among outpatients, the mean cost-per-episode of influenza was US$19.82 (SD, 27.29); US$21.49 (SD, 31.42) for children < 5 years, and US$16.79 (SD, 17.30) for persons aged ≥5 years. National annual influenza-associated cost estimates ranged from US$2.96-5.37 million for inpatients and US$5.96-26.35 million for outpatients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight influenza as causing substantial economic burden in Kenya. Further studies may be warranted to assess the potential benefit of targeted influenza vaccination strategies.

Modeling the effect of school closures in a pandemic scenario: exploring two different contact matrices.

BACKGROUND: School closures may delay the epidemic peak of the next influenza pandemic, but whether school closure can delay the peak until pandemic vaccine is ready to be deployed is uncertain. METHODS: To study the effect of school closures on the timing of epidemic peaks, we built a deterministic susceptible-infected-recovered model of influenza transmission. We stratified the U.S. population into 4 age groups (0-4, 5-19, 20-64, and ≥ 65 years), and used contact matrices to model the average number of potentially disease transmitting, nonphysical contacts. RESULTS: For every week of school closure at day 5 of introduction and a 30% clinical attack rate scenario, epidemic peak would be delayed by approximately 5 days. For a 15% clinical attack rate scenario, 1 week closure would delay the peak by 9 days. Closing schools for less than 84 days (12 weeks) would not, however, reduce the estimated total number of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Unless vaccine is available early, school closure alone may not be able to delay the peak until vaccine is ready to be deployed. Conversely, if vaccination begins quickly, school closure may be helpful in providing the time to vaccinate school-aged children before the pandemic peaks.

Effectiveness of Ebola treatment units and community care centers - Liberia, September 23-October 31, 2014.

Previous reports have shown that an Ebola outbreak can be slowed, and eventually stopped, by placing Ebola patients into settings where there is reduced risk for onward Ebola transmission, such as Ebola treatment units (ETUs) and community care centers (CCCs) or equivalent community settings that encourage changes in human behaviors to reduce transmission risk, such as making burials safe and reducing contact with Ebola patients. Using cumulative case count data from Liberia up to August 28, 2014, the EbolaResponse model previously estimated that without any additional interventions or further changes in human behavior, there would have been approximately 23,000 reported Ebola cases by October 31, 2014. In actuality, there were 6,525 reported cases by that date. To estimate the effectiveness of ETUs and CCCs or equivalent community settings in preventing greater Ebola transmission, CDC applied the EbolaResponse model to the period September 23-October 31, 2014, in Liberia. The results showed that admitting Ebola patients to ETUs alone prevented an estimated 2,244 Ebola cases. Having patients receive care in CCCs or equivalent community settings with a reduced risk for Ebola transmission prevented an estimated 4,487 cases. Having patients receive care in either ETUs or CCCs or in equivalent community settings, prevented an estimated 9,100 cases, apparently as the result of a synergistic effect in which the impact of the combined interventions was greater than the sum of the two interventions. Caring for patients in ETUs, CCCs, or in equivalent community settings with reduced risk for transmission can be important components of a successful public health response to an Ebola epidemic.

Patient flow time data of COVID-19 vaccination clinics in 23 sites, United States, April and May 2021.

INTRODUCTION: Public health department (PHD) led COVID-19 vaccination clinics can be a critical component of pandemic response as they facilitate high volume of vaccination. However, few patient-time analyses examining patient throughput at mass vaccination clinics with unique COVID-19 vaccination challenges have been published. METHODS: During April and May of 2021, 521 patients in 23 COVID-19 vaccination sites counties of 6 states were followed to measure the time spent from entry to vaccination. The total time was summarized and tabulated by clinic characteristics. A multivariate linear regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between vaccination clinic settings and patient waiting times in the clinic. RESULTS: The average time a patient spent in the clinic from entry to vaccination was 9 min 5 s (range: 02:00-23:39). Longer patient flow times were observed in clinics with higher numbers of doses administered, 6 or fewer vaccinators, walk-in patients accepted, dedicated services for people with disabilities, and drive-through clinics. The multivariate linear regression showed that longer patient waiting times were significantly associated with the number of vaccine doses administered, dedicated services for people with disabilities, the availability of more than one brand of vaccine, and rurality. CONCLUSIONS: Given the standardized procedures outlined by immunization guidelines, reducing the wait time is critical in lowering the patient flow time by relieving the bottleneck effect in the clinic. Our study suggests enhancing the efficiency of PHD-led vaccination clinics by preparing vaccinators to provide vaccines with proper and timely support such as training or delivering necessary supplies and paperwork to the vaccinators. In addition, patient wait time can be spent answering questions about vaccination or reviewing educational materials on other public health services.

Estimated COVID-19 Cases and Hospitalizations Averted by Case Investigation and Contact Tracing in the US.

Importance: Evidence of the impact of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing (CICT) programs is lacking, but policy makers need this evidence to assess the value of such programs. Objective: To estimate COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations averted nationwide by US states' CICT programs. Design, Setting, and Participants: This decision analytical model study used combined data from US CICT programs (eg, proportion of cases interviewed, contacts notified or monitored, and days to case and contact notification) with incidence data to model outcomes of CICT over a 60-day period (November 25, 2020, to January 23, 2021). The study estimated a range of outcomes by varying assumed compliance with isolation and quarantine recommendations. Fifty-nine state and territorial health departments that received federal funding supporting COVID-19 pandemic response activities were eligible for inclusion. Data analysis was performed from July to September 2021. Exposure: Public health case investigation and contact tracing. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcomes were numbers of cases and hospitalizations averted and the percentage of cases averted among cases not prevented by vaccination and other nonpharmaceutical interventions. Results: In total, 22 states and 1 territory reported all measures necessary for the analysis. These 23 jurisdictions covered 42.5% of the US population (approximately 140 million persons), spanned all 4 US Census regions, and reported data that reflected all 59 federally funded CICT programs. This study estimated that 1.11 million cases and 27 231 hospitalizations were averted by CICT programs under a scenario where 80% of interviewed cases and monitored contacts and 30% of notified contacts fully complied with isolation and quarantine guidance, eliminating their contributions to future transmission. As many as 1.36 million cases and 33 527 hospitalizations could have been prevented if all interviewed cases and monitored contacts had entered into and fully complied with isolation and quarantine guidelines upon being interviewed or notified. Across both scenarios and all jurisdictions, CICT averted an estimated median of 21.2% (range, 1.3%-65.8%) of the cases not prevented by vaccination and other nonpharmaceutical interventions. Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that CICT programs likely had a substantial role in curtailing the pandemic in most jurisdictions during the 2020 to 2021 winter peak. Differences in outcomes across jurisdictions indicate an opportunity to further improve CICT effectiveness. These estimates demonstrate the potential benefits from sustaining and improving these programs.

A tool for the economic analysis of mass prophylaxis operations with an application to H1N1 influenza vaccination clinics.

This article uses the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccination program experience to introduce a cost analysis approach that may be relevant for planning mass prophylaxis operations, such as vaccination clinics at public health centers, work sites, schools, or pharmacy-based clinics. These costs are important for planning mass influenza vaccination activities and are relevant for all public health emergency preparedness scenarios requiring countermeasure dispensing. We demonstrate how costs vary depending on accounting perspective, staffing composition, and other factors. We also describe a mass vaccination clinic budgeting tool that clinic managers may use to estimate clinic costs and to examine how costs vary depending on the availability of volunteers or donated supplies and on the number of patients vaccinated per hour. Results from pilot tests with school-based H1N1 influenza vaccination clinic managers are described. The tool can also contribute to planning efforts for universal seasonal influenza vaccination.

Evaluating the capability and cost of a mass influenza and pneumococcal vaccination clinic via computer simulation.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if a mass influenza/pneumococcal vaccination clinic could vaccinate 15,000 clients in 17 h; optimize personnel configuration to maximize number of clients vaccinated; and estimate costs (opportunity and clinic) and revenue. METHOD: The author used a discrete event simulation model to estimate the throughput of the vaccination clinic as the number of clients (arrival intensity) increased and as staff members were reassigned to different workflows. We represented workflows for 3 client types: "Medicare,'' "Special,'' and "Cash,'' where "Special'' designates Medicare clients who needed assistance moving through the clinic. The costs of supplies, staff sal-aries, and client waiting time were included in the model. We compared the "original'' model based on the staffing and performance of an actual clinic to an ;;optimized'' model in which staff were reassigned to optimize number of clients vaccinated. RESULTS: A maximum of 13,138 and 15,094 clients in the original and optimized models, respectively, were vaccinated. At the original arrival rate (8300 clients vaccinated in 17 h), supplies cost about $191,000 and were the most expensive component of the clinic operation in both models. However, as the arrival intensity increased to 140%, the "Medicare'' client opportunity cost increased from $23,887 and $21,474 to $743,510 and $740,760 for the simulated original and optimized models, respectively. CONCLUSION: The clinic could reach their target of 15,000 vaccinees with 2 fewer staff members by rearranging staff assignments from "Special" to "Medicare'' and "Cash'' stations. Computer simulation can help public health officials determine the most efficient use of staff, machinery, supplies, and time.

Estimating Weekly Call Volume to a National Nurse Telephone Triage Line in an Influenza Pandemic.

Telephone nurse triage lines, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Flu on Call®, a national nurse triage line, may help reduce the surge in demand for health care during an influenza pandemic by triaging callers, providing advice about clinical care and information about the pandemic, and providing access to prescription antiviral medication. We developed a Call Volume Projection Tool to estimate national call volume to Flu on Call® during an influenza pandemic. The tool incorporates 2 influenza clinical attack rates (20% and 30%), 4 different levels of pandemic severity, and different initial "seed numbers" of cases (10 or 100), and it allows variation in which week the nurse triage line opens. The tool calculates call volume by using call-to-hospitalization ratios based on pandemic severity. We derived data on nurse triage line calls and call-to-hospitalization ratios from experience with the 2009 Minnesota FluLine nurse triage line. Assuming a 20% clinical attack rate and a case hospitalization rate of 0.8% to 1.5% (1968-like pandemic severity), we estimated the nationwide number of calls during the peak week of the pandemic to range from 1,551,882 to 3,523,902. Assuming a more severe 1957-like pandemic (case hospitalization rate = 1.5% to 3.0%), the national number of calls during the peak week of the pandemic ranged from 2,909,778 to 7,047,804. These results will aid in planning and developing nurse triage lines at both the national and state levels for use during a future influenza pandemic.

Influenza vaccination of health care workers: policies and practices of hospitals in a community setting.

BACKGROUND: The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has long recommended that health care workers receive annual influenza vaccinations to prevent transmission of disease to vulnerable patients, but HCW vaccination rates remain low, and there is little information about hospital policies promoting employee vaccination. METHODS: Our objective was to collect information about and compare hospital influenza vaccination policies and practices regarding health care workers in the metropolitan Atlanta community and identify relationships between policies and practices and employee coverage rates. Senior staff of infection control and of employee health programs at 12 hospitals in the metropolitan Atlanta community completed an in-person interview using a structured guide. RESULTS: All study hospitals provided vaccine free of charge to employees in on-site clinics. Seven of the 9 hospitals clustered between 34% and 47% of their employees vaccinated, with an average of 41%. The hospitals that included flexibility and better accessibility, such as providing vaccination carts and adding more hours of vaccine availability, had somewhat higher hospital employee vaccination rates. Personal contact in the form of educational presentations appears to have more influence on employee decisions than distributing printed educational materials. CONCLUSION: Hospitals in the Atlanta community had several similar policies and practices to improve immunization coverage of their staff. Human interactions with employees as well as ease of vaccine access may be more successful at increasing coverage rates than mass approaches such as posters or flyers.

Do patterns of knowledge and attitudes exist among unvaccinated seniors?

OBJECTIVE: To examine patterns of knowledge and attitudes among adults aged > 65 years unvaccinated for influenza. METHODS: Surveyed Medicare beneficiaries in 5 areas; clustered unvaccinated seniors by their immunization related knowledge and attitudes. RESULTS: Identified 4 clusters: Potentials (45%) would receive influenza vaccine to prevent disease; Fearful Uninformeds (9%) were unsure if influenza vaccine causes illness; Doubters (27%) were unsure if vaccine is efficacious; Misinformeds (19%) believed influenza vaccine causes illness. More Potentials (75%) and Misinformeds (70%) ever received influenza vaccine than did Fearful Uninformeds (18%) and Doubters (29%). CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that cluster analyses may be useful in identifying groups for targeted health messages.

Modeling in Real Time During the Ebola Response.

To aid decision-making during CDC's response to the 2014-2016 Ebola virus disease (Ebola) epidemic in West Africa, CDC activated a Modeling Task Force to generate estimates on various topics related to the response in West Africa and the risk for importation of cases into the United States. Analysis of eight Ebola response modeling projects conducted during August 2014-July 2015 provided insight into the types of questions addressed by modeling, the impact of the estimates generated, and the difficulties encountered during the modeling. This time frame was selected to cover the three phases of the West African epidemic curve. Questions posed to the Modeling Task Force changed as the epidemic progressed. Initially, the task force was asked to estimate the number of cases that might occur if no interventions were implemented compared with cases that might occur if interventions were implemented; however, at the peak of the epidemic, the focus shifted to estimating resource needs for Ebola treatment units. Then, as the epidemic decelerated, requests for modeling changed to generating estimates of the potential number of sexually transmitted Ebola cases. Modeling to provide information for decision-making during the CDC Ebola response involved limited data, a short turnaround time, and difficulty communicating the modeling process, including assumptions and interpretation of results. Despite these challenges, modeling yielded estimates and projections that public health officials used to make key decisions regarding response strategy and resources required. The impact of modeling during the Ebola response demonstrates the usefulness of modeling in future responses, particularly in the early stages and when data are scarce. Future modeling can be enhanced by planning ahead for data needs and data sharing, and by open communication among modelers, scientists, and others to ensure that modeling and its limitations are more clearly understood. The activities summarized in this report would not have been possible without collaboration with many U.S. and international partners (http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/partners.html).

Time spent by primary care practices on pediatric influenza vaccination visits: implications for universal influenza vaccination.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the time currently spent by primary care practice personnel, and the examination room occupancy time for childhood influenza vaccination visits, to assess the practicality of annual influenza vaccination of all preschool children. SETTING: Seven primary care practices serving one fourth of the children living in Rochester, NY. PATIENTS: Ninety-two children seen for influenza vaccination visits in the 2000-2001 vaccination season. METHODS: Using a standardized protocol, practice staff measured the time spent on check-in, nurse or physician examination, and the actual influenza vaccination process. Waiting and "hands-on" times were determined, as well as total visit and room occupancy times. Nonparametric tests and multivariable models were used to analyze the time spent for components of the visits and to compare time spent by different age groups and practice types (suburban or urban). RESULTS: The median duration of the influenza vaccination visit was 14 minutes (25th to 75th percentiles range, 9-25 minutes) across the 7 practices, with visits to urban practices being longer (22 minutes) than visits to suburban practices (9 minutes). Eighty percent of patient time involved waiting, primarily in examination rooms. The major components of influenza vaccination visits included waiting room time (4 minutes in suburban practices vs 8 minutes in urban practices; P<.01), and time in the examination room (5 minutes vs 14 minutes, respectively; P<.001), during which only 1 to 2 minutes (for both suburban and urban practices) were for hands-on vaccinations. Only 5% of visits were examined by a physician or nurse practitioner. Visit times did not vary by age. CONCLUSIONS: Although the personnel time for influenza vaccination visits was short, there was substantial patient waiting and long occupancy of examination rooms. If universal influenza vaccination is to be efficiently managed in primary care practices, it may be necessary to implement "vaccination clinics" or sessions in which large numbers of children are scheduled for influenza vaccinations at times when adequate rooms and dedicated nursing staff are available.

Estimating the future number of cases in the Ebola epidemic--Liberia and Sierra Leone, 2014-2015.

The first cases of the current West African epidemic of Ebola virus disease (hereafter referred to as Ebola) were reported on March 22, 2014, with a report of 49 cases in Guinea. By August 31, 2014, a total of 3,685 probable, confirmed, and suspected cases in West Africa had been reported. To aid in planning for additional disease-control efforts, CDC constructed a modeling tool called EbolaResponse to provide estimates of the potential number of future cases. If trends continue without scale-up of effective interventions, by September 30, 2014, Sierra Leone and Liberia will have a total of approximately 8,000 Ebola cases. A potential underreporting correction factor of 2.5 also was calculated. Using this correction factor, the model estimates that approximately 21,000 total cases will have occurred in Liberia and Sierra Leone by September 30, 2014. Reported cases in Liberia are doubling every 15-20 days, and those in Sierra Leone are doubling every 30-40 days. The EbolaResponse modeling tool also was used to estimate how control and prevention interventions can slow and eventually stop the epidemic. In a hypothetical scenario, the epidemic begins to decrease and eventually end if approximately 70% of persons with Ebola are in medical care facilities or Ebola treatment units (ETUs) or, when these settings are at capacity, in a non-ETU setting such that there is a reduced risk for disease transmission (including safe burial when needed). In another hypothetical scenario, every 30-day delay in increasing the percentage of patients in ETUs to 70% was associated with an approximate tripling in the number of daily cases that occur at the peak of the epidemic (however, the epidemic still eventually ends). Officials have developed a plan to rapidly increase ETU capacities and also are developing innovative methods that can be quickly scaled up to isolate patients in non-ETU settings in a way that can help disrupt Ebola transmission in communities. The U.S. government and international organizations recently announced commitments to support these measures. As these measures are rapidly implemented and sustained, the higher projections presented in this report become very unlikely.

Temporary vaccine recommendations and provider compliance: a survey of pediatric practices during the 2003-2004 pneumococcal conjugate vaccine shortage.

OBJECTIVE: Heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was in short supply from December 2003 to August 2004. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians made recommendations to providers to withhold third and fourth doses of heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to ensure availability for those at highest risk. Previous studies of vaccine shortages have demonstrated that provider compliance with temporary recommendations is low. The objective of this study was to collect timely data about awareness and adherence to temporary recommendations and current supply status of heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in pediatric practices. METHODS: A 2-phase telephone survey of pediatric practices was conducted during a 10-week period during the 2003-2004 heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine shortage. Immunization nurses at randomly selected sites with physician-members of the American Academy of Pediatrics were asked a series of questions. RESULTS: In both study phases, >90% of participating practices were aware of the recommendations and reported adhering to the recommendations. In phase 1, practices with insufficient supply were more likely to implement recommendations than practices with sufficient supply. Participants identified health departments and Wyeth Vaccines as the most common sources of information. At least 65% of the practices in each phase reported use of tracking systems for children who missed doses. CONCLUSIONS: Most pediatric practices surveyed were aware of the shortage and were implementing the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine recommendations. Simplified recommendations and collaborative efforts to develop and widely disseminate interim recommendations may result in increased compliance by providers.

Underimmunization of American Indian and Alaska Native children.

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to determine whether disparities in childhood immunization coverage exist between American Indian/Alaska Native children and non-Hispanic white children. METHODS: We compared immunization coverage with the 4 diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, 3 poliovirus, 1 measles-mumps-rubella, 3 Haemophilus influenza type b, and 3 hepatitis B(4:3:1:3:3) series and its individual vaccine components (> or = 4 doses of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine; > or = 3 doses of oral or inactivated polio vaccine; > or = 1 dose of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine; > or = 3 doses of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine; and > or = 3 doses of hepatitis B vaccine) between American Indian/Alaska Native children and non-Hispanic white children from 2000 to 2005, using data from the National Immunization Survey. RESULTS: Although immunization coverage increased for both populations from 2001 to 2004, American Indian/Alaska Native children had significantly lower immunization coverage, compared with non-Hispanic white children, over that time period. In 2005, coverage continued to increase for American Indian/Alaska Native children but decreased for non-Hispanic white children, and no statistically significant disparity in 4:3:1:3:3 coverage was evident in that year. CONCLUSIONS: Disparities in immunization coverage for American Indian/Alaska Native children have been present, but unrecognized, since 2001. The absence of a disparity in coverage in 2005 is encouraging but is tempered by the fact that coverage for non-Hispanic white children decreased in that year.

Cost savings associated with using immunization information systems for Vaccines for Children administrative tasks.

Our objective was to investigate the potential cost savings of immunization information systems (IIS) in performing some administrative tasks associated with the federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) program at the state and practice levels. VFC is an entitlement program providing free vaccine to eligible children. We timed the staff of the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) and 72 private VFC practices for administrative VFC-related tasks from September 2003 through March 2004. Time measurements included time for practices to produce VFC reports and for UDOH staff to assess practice coverage levels and process VFC reports manually or via the Utah Statewide Immunization Information System (USIIS). Median cost savings to the state health department could be as much as $11 740 annually. Utah VFC practices could save up to a maximum of $446 annually per practice by using USIIS for VFC tasks. If applied to the 218 enrolled private practices statewide, this would result in a median total cost savings of $17,615 ($15,519 for reports and $2,096 for pulling medical charts).