Program

Through the Immunization Conference, the DSHS Immunization Unit seeks to eliminate the spread of vaccine preventable diseases by raising awareness of the diseases that vaccines prevent and educating the public about vaccine safety. This year’s conference education tracks will include topics on: Epidemiology and Surveillance; Texas Vaccines for Children Program; Adult Vaccines; Pediatric and Adolescent Vaccines; Special track 1; and Special Track 2. See session descriptions below the Schedule at a Glance.

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Schedule at a Glance

Tuesday, June 14

9:00 – 9:30 AM	Welcome and Introductions by DSHS Leadership
9:30 – 10:30 AM	State of Immunizations
10:30 – 10:45 AM	Break
10:45 – 11:45 AM	Plenary: National Vaccine Update and COVID-19 Perspective
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM	Lunch on Your Own
1:00 – 2:15 PM	Concurrent Breakout Sessions
2:15 – 2:30 PM	Break
2:30 – 3:45 PM	Concurrent Breakout Sessions
3:45 – 5:00 PM	Plenary: Roadmap to Building Vaccine Confidence

Wednesday, June 15

9:00 – 10:15 AM	Plenary: COVID-19 Lessons Learned, Vaccine Misinformation
10:15 – 10:30 AM	Break
10:30 – 11:45 AM	Concurrent Breakout Sessions
11:45 am – 1:00 PM	Lunch on Your Own
1:00 – 2:15 PM	Concurrent Breakout Sessions
2:15 – 2:30 PM	Break
2:30 – 4:00 PM	Plenary: Preparing for Future Public Health Crises
4:00 – 4:30 PM	Closing Conference Message

Tuesday, June 14

9:00 – 9:30 AM
OPENING SESSION

Welcome to the 2022 Texas Immunization Conference
Imelda Garcia, MPH, Associate Commissioner of Laboratory and Infectious Disease Services
Texas Department of State Health Services

Welcome and State of Texas Immunizations
John Hellerstedt, MD, Commissioner
Texas Department of State Health Services

Join us as Dr. John Hellerstedt provides an update of DSHS Immunization successes and barriers, COVID-19’s impact on public health in Texas, and his perspective on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

9:30 – 10:30 AM

State of Texas Immunizations
Antonio Aragon, MS, Immunization Unit Director
Texas Department of State Health Services

Join us as DSHS Immunization Director, Antonio Aragon, gives a general update on the state of Texas Immunizations.

10:45 – 11:45 AM
PLENARY

National Vaccine Update and COVID-19 Perspective
JoEllen Wolicki, BSN, RN, Nurse Educator
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Communication and Education Branch

Join CDC’s JoEllen Wolicki as she provides perspective on COVID-19 from the national level, and shares about vaccine update recommendations.

Objectives:

Identify one recently updated Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice’s (ACIP) immunization recommendation for children
Identify one recently updated Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice’s (ACIP) immunization recommendation for adults
Describe the impact COVID-19 has had nationally on vaccination rates

1:00 – 2:15 PM
CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Track: Epidemiology: Surveillance & Reporting

Flu Surveillance vs COVID: Knocked Down But Not Dragged Out
Emilio Gonzales, MPH, Epidemiologist II: State Flu Coordinator
Vaccine Preventable Disease Section, Texas Department of State Health Services

Emilio Gonzales will focus on the struggles encountered by Texas flu surveillance during the era of covid while providing a general overview of the 21-22 Flu season.

Objectives:

Relate the impact COVID-19 imposed on the syndromic surveillance of influenza in Texas.
Describe the importance of continued participation by public health partners in influenza surveillance.
Recognize the current Texas influenza season and interpret current flu reports published by Texas DSHS.

Track: TVC

COVID-19 Impacts on the Texas Vaccines for Children (TVFC) Program
Heather Mayfield, MS, Epidemiologist II and Abby Coxchalmers, MPH, CHES, Epidemiologist I
Access, Compliance, and Evaluation Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services

In this session, Heather Mayfield and Abby Cox-Chalmers will discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected vaccine administration within the TVFC program across Texas. This session will examine the periods of decline and uptake and the risks posed to Texans.

Objectives:

Define the Texas Vaccines for Children program, eligibility requirements.
State the effect the COVID-19 pandemic has had on vaccine administration.
Describe strategies to increase vaccine administration within the TVFC program.

Track: Adult Vaccines

Responding to Unexpected Outbreaks: Hepatitis A
Sarah Auerbach, MPH, Epidemiologist II
Access, Compliance, and Evaluation Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services
Connor Lynd, MPH, Epidemiologist I
Emerging and Acute Infectious Disease Unit, Texas Department of State Health Services
Marc Williamson, RN, Public Health Nurse & Nurse II
Dallas County Health & Human Services

The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Assessment Branch within the Immunization Section is working with the Emerging Acute and Infectious Disease Unit’s Vaccine Preventable Disease Team and with Public Health Region 2/3 to respond to an outbreak of Hepatitis A among their homeless population. This session will examine the efforts to vaccinate susceptible populations in the area through vaccination clinics at homeless shelters and public gathering spaces.

Objectives:

Explain the scope of the 2021-2022 Hepatitis A outbreak, its primary risk factors and the ways state and local health authorities are using vaccines to target its spread in at-risk populations

Track: Pediatric & Adolescent Vaccines

Immunization and Pregnant Women
C. Mary Healy, MD, Associate Director of Pediatrics
Baylor College of Medicine and Maternal Immunization at the Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research of Texas Children’s Hospital

Dr. Mary Healy demonstrates the benefits of both mother and infant when pregnant women get vaccinated against influenza and pertussis while identifying best practices in addressing concerns of pregnant patients.

Objectives:

Describe the rationale for maternal immunization and outline current US maternal immunization recommendations
Identify potential barriers and solutions in maternal vaccinations and best practices in addressing vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women

Special Track 1

Vaccine Outreach and Education: Community Based Organizations and Their Efforts to Build Resilient Community Partnerships
Anabel Rodriguez, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor
University of Texas at Houston School of Public Health at San Antonio
Maria Banos Jordan, President & Founder
Texas Familias Council
Kathy Phipps, CEO & Founder
Back To Eden Fellow Program
Laura Ackerman, MS; Shana Batten, MS; Rebecca Tamayo, MPH, Program Managers
Texas A&M Health Science Center

Members of the Texas A&M Health Science Center will describe their partnership with Texas Department of State Health Services and two community-based organizations to identify how they have partnered together to serve diverse populations. Speakers will identify the education and outreach strategies used to reach different populations, and how they created partnerships for their education and outreach, successes, challenges, and lessons learned.

Objectives:

Describe how to create outreach and education models/tools for a targeted community
Describe how to facilitate creation of partnerships within a targeted community

Special Track 2

Texas Immunization Registry: Data Exchange Best Practices and Updates
Angela De La Cruz, Interoperability Post Production Manager and
Joshua Shaver, Interoperability Onboarding Manager II
Texas Immunization Registry (ImmTrac2), Texas Department of State Health Services

This session will provide a high-level overview on areas where health care providers can improve on their data quality for reporting patient and immunization data via health level seven (HL7) data exchange with the registry.

Objectives:

Describe what is considered complete immunization data
Identify recent data exchange updates made at the registry

2:30 – 3:45 PM
CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Track: Epidemiology: Surveillance & Reporting

Vaccine Preventable Disease Update (VPD)
Heather Mayfield, MS, Epidemiologist II
Access, Compliance, and Evaluation Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services
Elise Huebner, MS, Epidemiology Team Lead
Vaccine Preventable Disease Section, Texas Department of State Health Services
Greg Leos, MPH, Manager III
Access, Compliance, and Evaluation Branch – Texas Department of State Health Services

This presentation will provide an overall summary of vaccine rates reported and interventions undertaken by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Assessment Branch of the Immunization Unit at Texas Department of State Health Services.

Objectives:

State current vaccination rates
Describe the Surveillance, Epidemiology and Assessment Branch initiated interventions

Track: TVFC

Improving VFC Provider Coverage through Quality Assurance Activities
Trish Stowe, Vaccine Operations Group Manager
Texas Vaccines for Children (TVFC), Texas Department of State Health Services

In this presentation, immunizing health care providers can learn four core strategies to implement in their office to increase overall vaccination coverage rates. The Immunization Quality Improvement for Providers (IQIP) Program brings to the forefront real, tangible activities that health care providers can initiate into daily practices that will increase vaccine uptake in both the pediatric and adolescent patient populations. The IQIP Program is primarily targeted for providers enrolled in the Texas Vaccines for Children (TVFC) Program but can be adapted by any provider in the State of Texas who is interested in increasing their practice’s vaccination coverage rates.

Track: Adult Vaccines

Texas Pharmacy Response to COVID-19
Denise Starkey, MPH, MA, Adult and Influenza Immunization Program Manager
Adult and Influenza Immunization Program, Texas Department of State Health Services
Debbie Garza, RPh, Chief Executive Officer
Texas Pharmacy Association

This session will discuss the history and vital role that pharmacies can play in increasing accessibility to vaccines, give an overview of Texas pharmacy’s role throughout COVID-19, and review past and current efforts to establish partnerships with pharmacy-related associations, providers, and partners.

Objectives:

Describe the important role pharmacies play in educating patients on vaccines

Track: Pediatric and Adolescent Vaccines

Data Resources: DSHS Dashboards (Flu, Tdap/HPV, TIPS, COVID-19)
Matthew Davis, IIS Operations Group Manager
Heather Mayfield, MS, Epidemiologist II and
Ruth Okpara, MPH, Program Specialist III
Access, Compliance, and Evaluation Branch – Texas Department of State Health Services

Texas Vaccines for Children Tdap:HPV Ratio Report – this section will include an overview of the report and measures, HPV vaccination coverage rates from NIS-Teen, missed opportunities for HPV vaccination, HPV vaccination resources, and project performance and effectiveness.

Texas Vaccines for Children Influenza Dashboard – this section will review Texas Flu Vaccination Coverage rates for previous flu seasons, review Previous Provider Pre-Book breakdowns for the 21-22 flu season, Pre-Book & Doses Shipped vs Administered and review of the TVFC Flu Dashboard

Objectives:

Identify the specific Texas DSHS dashboards, reports, and provider level data
Identify strategies to increase vaccine uptake and immunization coverage within their practice

Special Track 1

Vaccine Inclusion
Jennifer Moore, BSN, RN, Nurse IV – Operations Team
Immunization Section, Texas Department of State Health Services
Demi Tomasides, MPH, Vaccine Outreach Coordinator
Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities

This interactive presentation will be discussing the importance of vaccine inclusion, to include working with individuals with developmental disabilities (IDDs). The focus of this presentation aims to reduce health inequities within the IDD population. Presenters will focus on strategies for maximizing a vaccination appointment and effective communication when working with adolescents with developmental disabilities.

Objectives:

Describe ways to maximize a vaccination appointment and provide effective communication for the IDD population

Special Track 2

Data and Surveys: Using Data and Data Tools to Build Community Partnerships and Achieve Project Goals
Ann Sayer-Caldwell, MPH, Deputy Director
Immunization Collaboration of Tarrant County

Ann Sayer-Caldwell will discuss how the the Immunization Collaboration of Tarrant County (ICTC) has consistently used data and public health surveys to identify public health needs, gauge views of community members, establish project goals and successfully meet project requirements. Through the ICTC’s data tracking, surveys, and creative approaches to capture data, the ICTC has been able to successfully collaborate with hospitals, local health departments, other community based organizations, and public school leadership to create education models and public awareness vaccine campaigns which center around administering vaccines and improving public health outcomes in Tarrant County.

Objectives:

Identify how data should be used to identify community needs and drive immunization goals
Describe how data is used to form and enhance community partnerships to bolster public health outcomes

3:45 – 5:00 PM
PLENARY

Roadmap to Building Vaccine Confidence
Claire Hannah, MPH, Executive Director
Association of Immunization Managers
Robyn Correll, MPH, CHWI, Public Health Consultant -Communication/Evaluation
Vaccinate Your Family
Julie Boom, MD, Director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Immunization Project and Director of Infant and Childhood Immunization for the Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research
Texas Children’s Hospital

Panelists will explore the concept of vaccine confidence and how providers can best approach conversations to bolster vaccine confidence among patients and community members, share about their work to increase vaccine confidence in their local communities, and identify ways to partner with trusted messengers to increase vaccination rates.

Objectives:

List the eight principles that could build a roadmap to help increase trust, acceptance and demand for vaccination.

Wednesday, June 15

9:00 – 10:15 AM
PLENARY

Navigating Vaccine Misinformation During Public Health Crises
Stephen Pont, MD, MPH, Medical Director
Center for Public Health Policy and Practice, Texas Department of State Health Services
Alexander Whitman, Deputy Communications Director
Texas Department of State Health Services

Objective:

List three steps to help dispel misinformation regarding vaccine

10:30 – 11:45 AM
CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Track: Epidemiology: Surveillance & Reporting

Updates from the American Immunization Registry Association and the State of Texas Immunization Registry
Kevin Allen, Immunization Information Systems Unit Director
Immunization Section, Texas Department of State Health Services
Mary Beth Kurilo, MPH, MSW, Policy and Planning Director
American Immunization Registry Association

Mary Beth Kurilo and Kevin Allen will split this session by providing both an update on the national perspective on Immunization Registries from the American Immunization Registry Association and a State perspective of ImmTrac2, Texas’ Department of State Health Services immunization registry. Attendees will have the opportunity to address IIS questions and discuss trends and benefits to providers.

Objective:

Describe the vision and impact of nationwide availability of Immunization data

Track: TVFC

TVFC Storage and Handling
Christine Clear, Team Lead
Texas Vaccines for Children Program, Texas Department of State Health Services

Christine Clear will provide an overview on the TVFC Program requirements for vaccine storage and handling, including vaccine management plans, proper storage and handling practices and vaccine loss related to storage and handling. This session will also discuss storage units, temperature monitoring and recording requirements, data loggers, vaccine management plans, and vaccine storage and handling related loss.

Objectives:

Describe how to decrease vaccine storage and handling errors and preserve the nation’s vaccine supply through understanding recommended best practices for storage and handling of vaccines
Cite Storage and handling for both refrigerated and frozen vaccines (to include recommended temperatures)
Identify how to use and maintain storage unit and temperature monitoring equipment
Define vaccine emergency preparedness
List how to report temperature excursions and/or waste

Track: Adult Vaccines

Flu in Texas
Morgen Gawlik, Team Lead
Adult and Influenza Group, Texas Department of State Health Services
Kenneth Williams, Program Specialist V
Adult and Influenza Group, Texas Department of State Health Services
David Zulli, Program Specialist IV
Adult and Influenza Group, Texas Department of State Health Services

This interactive presentation will provide vital influenza knowledge and convey the urgency of exponentially increasing influenza vaccination coverage rates throughout Texas, for the current and future influenza seasons. Speakers will educate participants on updates surrounding the 2021-2022 influenza season, Adult immunization recommendations, Pedi and Adult immunization rates, ImmTrac2 reporting, CDC standards, and co-administration.

Objectives:

Describe current influenza vaccination coverage rates, as well as utilization rate within
Define strategies to increase influenza vaccination coverage levels across Texas

Track: Pediatric and Adolescent Vaccines

Engaging Concerned Parents
Karen Ernst, Director
Voices for Vaccines

Karen Ernst will share some of the common fears among parents regarding vaccinations for children and introduce communication strategies for providers to engage with concerned parents. She will address the disconnect between what providers think parents’ concerns are and what data actually shows to be parents’ greatest concerns, and provide solutions to bridge this communication gap.

Objectives:

List four reasons parents oppose vaccines
Describe ways to address the reasons parents are concerned about childhood vaccinations
Define how to dispel the misinformation

Special Track 1

Vaccine Literacy: Advancing Vaccine Equity in Historically Excluded Communities via Building Health Champions
Kristen Hobbs, MPH, Director, Quality Improvement and Equity
National Minority Quality Forum
Center for Sustainable Health Care Quality and Equity

Kristen Hobbs will describe how the National Minority Forum’s Center for Sustainable Health Care Quality and Equity has built a health champions program through varying clinical and community engagement modalities. While vaccination coverage has increased, it remains uneven across the country. Statistics show that white people account for two-thirds (64%) of the unvaccinated population. This session will address how Black and Hispanic populations have been less likely than their White counterparts to receive a vaccine in the beginning of the rollout, but explain how these disparities have narrowed over time and been reversed for Hispanic people. This session will demonstrate how to increase vaccination rates in under-engaged communities.

Objectives:

Define strategies for improving vaccination uptake in historically excluded communities
Identify best practices for marrying clinical practice with community engagement
Describe three hurdles to increasing vaccine rates in under-engaged communities

Track: Special Track 2

Data Quality Issues: Types, Remediation, and Their Impact on the Vaccine Inventory
Prageet Kaang, Data Analytics Manager
Immunization Section, Texas Department of State Health Services
Adaeze Ifesi, Data Analyst
Immunization Section, Texas Department of State Health Services

This presentation will provide the nuts and bolts of data quality regarding the Texas Immunization Registry system, Immtrac2. This session will address significant errors that can cause data to be rejected by the registry and informational errors that can have a negative impact on the overall quality of data in the registry. Participants will learn crucial data reporting skills.

Objectives:

Detect the different kinds of data quality errors and how to correct them
Describe the impact of these errors on their vaccine inventory in the Vaccine Allocation and Ordering System

1:00 – 2:15 PM
CONCURRENT BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Track: Epidemiology: Surveillance & Reporting

Panel: HPV in Texas
Heather Mayfield, MS, Epidemiologist II
Access, Compliance, and Evaluation Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services
Fatima Frausto, MPH, Team Lead
Intervention Group, Assessment, Compliance, Evaluation Branch, Immunization Section, Texas Department of State Health Services
Jane Montealegre, PhD, Behavioral Epidemiologist
Baylor College of Medicine
Ana Rodriguez, MD, MPH, Associate Professor
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Texas Medical Branch

These speakers will discuss their work around increasing HPV vaccination rates across Texas and their strategies for engaging diverse populations around HPV vaccination. Vaccination rates against HPV remain low among adolescents since 2020 despite its safety and effectiveness. This session will identify how to use evidence-based strategies to provide strong recommendations for the vaccine. In order to protect Texas youth from cancers caused by HPV, barriers and statistics will be used to demonstrate the seriousness of vaccination rates.

Objectives:

Relate HPV uptake rates in Texas and the impact of COVID-19 on HPV uptake
Describe how to use evidence-based strategies to provide a strong recommendation for the HPV vaccine to parents of adolescent patients through the HPV & Adolescent Vaccine Toolkit from DSHS
Identify practice-level evidence-based strategies for improving HPV vaccination coverage through the HPV & Adolescent Vaccine Toolkit from DSHS
Identify barriers – cultural, gender, geographic, language – in administering the HPV vaccine and solutions and strategies for bolstering trust in communities

Track: TVFC

ImmTrac2 Reporting – IIS and Coverage Levels
Renuka Icchapurapu, RN, MSN, CAPM, Epidemiologist III
Texas Immunization Registry, Texas Department of State Health Services
Paul Spock, PhD, IIS Training Manager
Texas Immunization Registry, Texas Department of State Health Services

This session will focus on TVFC reporting requirements and provide knowledge to improve immunization coverage rates by providers. Speakers will explain monthly reports generated by ImmTrac2 that are used as input for State level reports created by the Vaccine Distribution Team. Specific reporting populations discussed will be children under 2 and adolescents of 13 years.

Objectives:

Define the TVFC reporting requirements
Describe how IQIP works
Relate how strategies are implemented to improve immunization coverage rates by providers

Track: Adult Vaccines

Addressing Barriers to Adult Vaccinations
Samuel Ortiz-Severiano, Program Specialist V
Adult Immunization Program, Immunization Section, Texas Department of State Health Services

Samuel Ortiz-Severiano will introduce National Vaccine Advisory Committees Standards for Adult Immunization Practices to address barriers to adult immunizations in Texas. This session will provide healthcare professionals and providers with strategies aimed to encourage all adult patients to be fully immunized.

Objectives:

Describe current barriers to adult immunization coverage rates, as well as utilization rate within the ASN Program.
Define the Standards for Adult Immunization Practices and strategies to reduce the barriers and increase adult immunization rates across Texas

Track: Pediatric and Adolescent Vaccines

A Texas-Sized Vaccination Opportunity
Carolyn Smith, MSN, RN, Compliance Group Manager
Access, Compliance, and Evaluation Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services
Jennifer Moore, BSN, RN, Nurse IV – Operations Team
Immunization Section, Texas Department of State Health Services

Expert speakers will delve into an overview of Texas’s school vaccination rates, what to expect in the future, and how individuals can keep their community accountable for public health. Taking advantage of opportunities, becoming a VFC provider, and encouraging the use of ImmTrac2 will be some strategies discussed for pursuing community health.

Objective:

Describe the current Texas school vaccination rates and trends, and several ways they can help to improve them

Track: Special Track 1

The State Medical Operations Center (SMOC) and its Role in Coordinating Disaster Vaccines
Chris Medina, MA, Operations Branch Manager
Response and Recovery Unit, Texas Department of State Health Services

Chris Medina will describe the mission, purpose, responsibilities, and organization of the Texas State Medical Operations Center. This session will also discuss the Texas State of Texas Assistance Request process and specifically, requests for vaccines during disasters and their coordination processes.

Objective:

Define the role of the State Medical Operations Center and its role in coordinating fulfilling vaccine STARs during disasters

Special Track 2

The Role Community Based Organizations Play in Public Health: A Conversation on Immunizations in Rural Communities
Robert Owens Carpenter, MD, MPH, FACS, Director of MD Plus Program
Texas A&M College of Medicine
Daniela Dwyer, JD, Managing Attorney – Farmworker Team
Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid
Laura Ackerman, MS, Program Manager
Texas A&M Health Science Center
Rebecca Tamayo, MPH, Program Manager
Texas A&M Health Science Center

A panel of one community-based organization and one institution of higher education will discuss their work in the rural communities of Texas. These organizations provide service and assistance to rural communities to improve the health status and immunization rates of residents in rural Texas. They will describe how they work directly with rural communities to help them identify and develop community-based solutions to their local health infrastructure issues and to advocate for rural concerns in Texas.

Objective:

Define the role of the State Medical Operations Center and its role in coordinating fulfilling vaccine STARs during disasters

2:30 – 4:00 PM
CLOSING SESSION

Preparing for Future Public Health Crises, COVID-19 Lessons Learned AND
Closing Conference Message
L.J Tan, PhD, Chief Strategy Officer
Immunization Action Coalition

Objective:

List three steps to help dispel misinformation regarding vaccine

4:00 – 4:30 PM

Closing Conference Message
Antonio Aragon, MS, Immunization Unit Director
Texas Department of State Health Services