Issue 10 Spring 2022

Immunization Updates for the 2022-23 School Year

The Immunization Team at Washington State’s Department of Health hosted the annual School Immunization Updates webinar on Wednesday, March 30. The presentation included changes to school vaccine policies along with new information added to the CDC’s recommendations for all ages. Use the links below to access the recording, slides, and Continuing Education credit information.
Immunization Schedule and School and Child Care Immunization Requirements Webinar | Washington State Department of Health

Resources for school nurses and staff:

Adult and School Community Immunization Updates

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) updates vaccine recommendations for all ages and publishes the new schedules every year. The 2022 adult schedule updates and expands the use of hepatitis B, zoster (shingles), and pneumococcal vaccines to provide more protection from potentially serious diseases. Adult vaccine recommendations are based on age and individual risk factors like medical conditions, jobs, and travel plans. Your colleagues can complete this quiz to see if they are up to date with vaccine protection.
The Adult Vaccine Quiz | CDC
Herramienta de evaluación de vacunas para adultos | CDC

For more information:
Pneumococcal Vaccination: What Everyone Should Know | CDC
Hepatitis B - Vaccination of Adults | CDC
Shingrix Shingles Vaccination: What Everyone Should Know | CDC

The Vaccine Makers Project: Vaccine Lesson Plans

”The Vaccine Makers Project is committed to public education about vaccine science via scientifically supported, historically accurate, and emotionally compelling content.” Are you interested in curriculum on the immune system and vaccine science? Check out the lesson plans below. They use a variety of resources to help students learn important concepts and experience the scientific method in the context of vaccine development.

Elementary | The Vaccine Makers Project
The elementary level focuses on the different kinds of germs, introduces the scientific method, and identifies heroes who contributed to this body of knowledge.

Middle School | The Vaccine Makers Project
This set of lessons uses polio to illustrate the many facets of the vaccine development process. It includes a video in which a polio survivor shares memories of the pre-vaccine polio outbreak in the early 1950’s and its effects on her life and community.

High School | The Vaccine Makers Project
The high school level plans move into the organs and tissues of the immune system and their functions. They address social issues that are an important part of our vaccine conversations, such as messaging on social media, animals in biomedical research, and the origins and use of cell cultures. This set includes a case study on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic to demonstrate the many factors that contribute to the spread of disease.
Sign Up for Updates | The Vaccine Makers Project

A Rise in Accidental Overdose Deaths: We must talk to kids about the dangers of fentanyl

Talking with youth about how to make safe, smart choices about drugs and alcohol is important. However, sometimes adults forget to also address the risks of prescription drug use. Snohomish County experienced a tragic rise in youth accidental overdose deaths due to fentanyl in 2021. Caregivers and educators have an important role to play in helping youth avoid both prescription and street drugs. According to the Washington Health Alliance, "Almost 50% of young people who use heroin started with prescription drug abuse, and over 40% of teens who misused a prescription drug got it from their parent’s medicine cabinet." Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 80-100 times more potent than morphine and comes in many forms, such as powders, tablets, capsules, solutions, patches, and rocks (see image above).

Where are kids finding fentanyl? Fentanyl can be used for severe pain in highly controlled clinical settings. However, the fentanyl that someone could get online, from a friend, or from a dealer is almost always illicitly manufactured. It can be found mixed with other opioids such as heroin, or other recreational drugs, such as methamphetamine, cocaine, and MDMA. Mixing drugs typically isn’t a choice of the dealer or the user – they are most often not aware that their drugs contain fentanyl, and the effects of these mixed drugs are much more dangerous and potentially deadly even if only used once.

Please take time to talk to youth about the extreme dangers of fentanyl and that it may be hidden in pills, powders or other substances they believe are safe. Also consider carrying Naloxone. For more information about fentanyl, opioid use, and overdose prevention, visit Snohomish Overdose Prevention and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

April is a Good Time to Talk About Marijuana

April is the perfect time for marijuana prevention! With “420” (a day many people associate with marijuana use) on April 20th, it’s a great opportunity to talk with your students about the risks of underage marijuana use. The Washington State Department of Health’s teen marijuana prevention campaign is called You Can. It’s full of youth-appropriate, factual information about the risks of underage marijuana use, while focusing on the positives of not using. It’s a great resource to share with your students! It also includes information on mental health promotion, vaping prevention, and COVID-19. The Youth Marijuana Prevention Coordinator at the Health District is always available to help connect you with other marijuana prevention-related resources. You can reach Juliet at jdalessandro@snohd.org.

Healthy Youth Survey (HYS) Results Are Here!

Healthy Youth Survey results from 2002 through 2021 are available now on AskHYS. The Healthy Youth Survey
provides important survey results about the health of adolescents in Washington. County prevention coordinators, community coalitions, community public health and safety networks, schools, and others use this information to guide policy and programs that serve youth.

Fact Sheets: Pre-formatted fact sheets on important HYS topics at the state and local levels.
Reports: Annual frequency reports at the state and local level, and statewide analytic reports with survey details and trend results.
Question X Question Analysis: An interactive data query system to analyze state and local results for a single HYS question or to analyze two questions together — that is crossing one Question by another Question (Q x Q).
Who has results?: Past participation in HYS from 2002 to 2021 by school, district, county, and ESD.

If you want or need your district data, please contact your district office. More information about the HYS can be found here.

Know the ABC's For Healthy Kids

Keeping children safe and healthy can be an adventure. This year, the Snohomish Health District is featuring an alphabet of tips focused on children’s health.

The ABC’s for Healthy Kids year-long campaign includes social media, blogs, videos, and printable activities to do with children that highlight topics such as regular check-ups, healthy eating, safety and injury prevention, reducing the spread of illness, and much more.

We encourage you to share materials and make use of the activities to help children and families focus on building lifelong healthy habits. And maybe we’ll catch you at an AquaSox event or somewhere else this summer! Please stop by and say “hi.”

You can learn more and watch for updates all throughout 2022 at www.snohd.org/healthykids, and follow Snohomish Health District for updates every week.

Activities: www.snohd.org/healthykids and www.snohd.org/activities

Blogs: www.snohd.org/healthykids and www.snohd.org/publichealthessentials

Subscribe for emails when new blogs are posted by signing up at www.snohd.org/notifyme

Social media for ABC’s campaign:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SnohomishHealth
Instagram: www.instagram.com/snohd/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SnoHD
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@snohd1

Interested in learning more, or want to have Health District resources at a community event? Submit an event request at www.snohd.org/eventrequest or email communications@snohd.org.