EDUCATION & ENGAGEMENT The Immunization Coalition of Delaware Mission: Bring together local, state, and community organizations and individuals to promote education about vaccine preventable diseases and new vaccines, with the goal of improving access and vaccination rates throughout the lifespan.
https://immunizedelaware.org/ The ICD works in partnership with its members and their organizations to advocate for policy issues related to childhood, adolescent, and adult immunizations; reduce disparities in adult access to immunizations; and to shape the healthcare process and outcomes for Delaware residents in relation to vaccine preventable disease. The ICD’s goal for 2021 was to continue educating the public about COVID-19, as well as provide education about the different COVID-19 vaccines being created, tested, and ultimately approved. It became a member of the Communications Subcommittee of the Delaware Division of Public Health’s Coronavirus Vaccine Taskforce. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all quarterly meetings of the ICD were held virtually this year. Alongside the standing discussion items (influenza updates, school health, and global emerging infectious disease), the ICD received updates on vaccines, ongoing vaccine education programs, and the state of childhood vaccinations in Delaware. The ICD’s website is https://www.immunizedelaware.org/, and has sections for both healthcare professionals and the public, with links to immunization stories in the news, a Delaware-specific Coronavirus page, a section on the flu season, and other immunization topics. The ICD also publishes its Week in Review on Mondays. On December 13, the ICD was pleased to collaborate with the Medical Society of Delaware (MSD) and the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) on the annual Communicable Disease Summit. The theme of the 2021 Summit was “How 2020 Changed the World.” Over 100 people attended virtually, and the event was moderated by the ICD’s program manager, Dr. Kate Smith. Presentations included: • Update on Delaware Health, by Dr. Karyl T. Rattay, Director of the Delaware Division of Public Health; • Delaware Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, by Dr. Rick Hong, Medical Director of the Delaware Division of Public Health; • Vaccine Hesitancy, by Dr. Jonathan Miller, Medical Director of Value-Based Care for Nemours Delaware Valley Operations; • Vaccine Development, by Dr. Michael J. Smith, Professor of Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Duke University Medical Center; • A Panel Discussion, featuring most of the speakers, regarding the state of the COVID-19 pandemic locally, nationally, and globally; • Travel Medicine and the Impact of COVID-19, by Dr. Scott Olewiler, Infectious Disease and Travel Medicine Specialist at Beebe Healthcare; and • Pandemics and the Global Response, by Dr. David Weber, the Charles Addison and Elizabeth Ann Sanders Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics and Epidemiology at the UNC School of Medicine and UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. The conference was accredited by MSD for 6.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ of continuing medical education. All presentations were recorded, and they can be accessed on the ICD’s website at https://immunizedelaware.org/2021communicable-disease-summit/. 4
