Long-Term Care Facility Immunization Toolkit

Improving Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination of Residents in Long-Term Care Facilities.

The Bureau of Epidemiology and Public Health Informatics in collaboration with the Kansas Foundation for Medical Care, Inc. have developed an immunization toolkit to help improve influenza and pneumococcal vaccination of residents in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and to aid LTCFs in preventing and controlling outbreaks of respiratory illness. The toolkit contains information on influenza and pneumococcal disease, vaccine recommendations, testing and treatment recommendations, and control measures to use in the event of an outbreak. In addition, it includes posters for LTCFs to display to promote vaccination and refrain ill persons from visiting along with resources for LTCFs to track resident vaccination statuses and to monitor respiratory illness during outbreaks.

Since the development of this toolkit, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has come out with a new pneumococcal vaccine recommendation regarding the use of PCV13 in persons greater than 65 years of age:

• For adults aged greater than or equal to 65 years who have not previously received pneumococcal vaccine or whose previous vaccination history is unknown, they should receive a dose of PCV13 first, followed by a dose of PPSV23. The dose of PPSV23 should be given 6 to 12 months after a dose of PCV13. The two vaccines should not be coadministered, and the minimum acceptable interval between PCV13 and PPSV23 is 8 weeks.
• For adults aged greater than or equal to 65 years who have previously received greater than or equal to 1 dose of PPSV23, they should also receive a dose of PCV13 if they have not yet received it. A dose of PCV13 should be given greater than or equal to 1 year after receipt of the most recent PPSV23 dose. For those for whom an additional dose of PPSV23 is indicated, this subsequent PPSV23 dose should be given 6 to 12 months after PCV13 and greater than or equal to 5 years after the most recent dose of PPSV23.

We hope this immunization toolkit will be a valuable resource for LTCFs in protecting the health of their residents. For any questions or concerns, please contact Chelsea Raybern.