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Immunization resources for health care providers

Health care providerPublic Health - Seattle & King County supports health care providers to ensure that their patients are safely and properly vaccinated. Find the latest immunization recommendations, get resources and materials, and identify partnering programs by clicking on a link below.

Did You Know? Medical care providers are eligible for free, federally funded vaccines for uninsured and lower income families' children through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. Click here for more information or to enroll.


Use this shortcut menu to take you quickly to a topic area of interest:
Provider education and training
Recommended immunization schedules
Vaccinating people with specific medical conditions and/or in specific subgroups
Contraindications, precautions and adverse reactions
Vaccine information and resources
Other immunization resources providers shouldn't be without

Provider education and training

National Center for Immunizations and Respiratory Diseases Presents: Current Issues in Immunization NetConference
April 1, 2010, 12 noon - 1 pm Eastern
Moderator: Dr. Andrew Kroger

Speakers and topics:
Pekka Nuorti, MD, DSc: New ACIP recommendations for PCV13
Amanda Cohn, MD: New Meningococcal Vaccine Recommendations

Register Now


Health Advisory: A law passed in 2006 in Washington requires that children under 3 years and pregnant women must be given only thimerosal-free vaccine. More information about this law. Single-dose vials and prefilled syringes are thimerosal-free and for influenza vaccine, are available in the dosage for children age 6 months through 35 months and for children three years and older and adults through Public Health clinics and other providers in King County.

Recommended immunization schedules
Vaccinating people with specific medical conditions and/or in specific subgroups
Contraindications, precautions and adverse reactions

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is a national vaccine safety surveillance program co-sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). VAERS collects and analyzes information from reports of adverse events following immunization. VAERS encourages the reporting of any clinically significant adverse event that occurs after the administration of any vaccine licensed in the United States. You should report clinically significant adverse events even if you are unsure whether a vaccine caused the event.

The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) requires health care providers to report:

  • Any event listed by the vaccine manufacturer as a contraindication to subsequent doses of the vaccine.
  • Any event listed in the Reportable Events Table that occurs within the specified time period after vaccination.

A copy of the Reportable Events Table can be obtained by calling VAERS at 1-800-822-7967 or by downloading online.

Who can report to VAERS?

Anyone can report to VAERS. The majority of VAERS reports are sent in by vaccine manufacturers (42%) and health care providers (30%). The remaining reports are obtained from state immunization programs (12%), vaccine recipients (or their parent/guardians, 7%) and other sources (9%). Vaccine recipients or their parents or guardians are encouraged to seek the help of their health care professional in filling out the VAERS form.

How do I report to VAERS?

You can report by mail, fax or online. You can access the online reporting portal via the link above. If reporting by mail, you can obtain pre-addressed postage paid report forms by calling VAERS at 1-800-822-7967. You may use photocopies of the form to submit reports by mail or fax. You may also download printable copies of the VAERS form as well as other information about the VAERS Program.

Vaccine information and resources
Other immunization resources providers shouldn't be without

Books/pamphlets/CDs:

  • 2009 Red Book: Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases, 28th edition. American Academy of Pediatrics. The "Red Book" provides a summary of AAP recommendations concerning infectious diseases in and immunizations for infants, children, and adolescents.

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Epidemiology & Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases ("The Pink Book"), 11th edition, May 2009. CDC's "Pink Book" provides detailed information about vaccines and the diseases they prevent. To order a copy, call the Public Health Foundation at 877-252-1200. Cost is $35.00 plus shipping & handling.

  • Immunization Works, CD (2009, item #99-9804). Includes all ACIP statements, all VISs, Pink Book, Surveillance Manual, items on Immunization Survey, Vaccine Safety, Immunization Registries, VACMAN, CASA, and related articles and letters.

  • Autism's False Prophets by Paul A. Offit, MD, Columbia University Press, 2008.
    In this book, Offit recounts the history of autism research. He considers the manipulation of science in the popular media and the courtroom, and he explores why society is susceptible to the bad science and risky therapies put forward by many anti-vaccination activists.

  • Baby 411, 4th Edition, by Ari Brown, MD, and Denise Fields, Windsor Peak Press, 2010
    Baby 411 provides the ultimate compilation of Frequently Asked Questions for baby's first year, including a special section on vaccines.

  • Do Vaccines Cause That?! A Guide for Evaluating Vaccine Safety, by Martin Myers, MD and Diego Pineda, MS, Immunization for Public Health, 1st Edition, 2008. Do Vaccines Cause That?! provides straight, science-based answers to parents questions about vaccines.

  • Plain Talk About Childhood Immunizations, 6th Edition, Washington State Department of Health, 2009. Provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about immunizations.

Web sites:

Email, fax and phone numbers:

  • LOCAL: Public Health - Seattle & King County
    • Immunization Program: 206-296-4774
    • Vaccine Distribution Program: 206-296-4782
    • Communicable Disease Hotline: 206-296-4949
    • Email: vaccineinfo@kingcounty.gov

  • STATE: Washington State Immunization Program:
  • FEDERAL: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
    • National Immunization Program e-mail address: nipinfo@cdc.gov
    • Telephone consultation: CDC-INFO Contact Center, staffed 8 am-11pm (EST)
    • English and Spanish: 1-800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636)
    • CDC Fax Information Service: 1-888-CDC-FAXX (1-888-232-3299)