August is National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM). This annual observance highlights the efforts of healthcare professionals to protect patients of all ages against vaccine-preventable diseases through on-time vaccination.

During NIAM, we encourage you to ensure your patients are up-to-date on recommended vaccines. Research has consistently shown that healthcare professionals are the most trusted source of vaccine information for parents and patients.

Access CDC educational resources for patients and parents about the benefits of vaccinations, for healthcare professionals to have successful vaccine conversations with parents and patients. CDC also has vaccination guidance during COVID-19 pandemic available.

Vaccines for Children (VFC) and Vaccines for Adult (VFA) Program participants are now able to pre-book their flu vaccines in Florida SHOTS for the 2020-2021 season. Only the Enrollee, Primary Coordinator, or Back-up Coordinator are able to enter the pre-book information into Florida SHOTS. 

Download the step-by-step guide for completing your 2020-2021 flu pre-book HERE.  Also available in Spanish HERE.

Duplicate patient records take time, effort, and resources to correct. You can prevent duplicates and ensure the accuracy of your data.

Be complete. More detail is always better—including mother, father, guardian names and birthdates, twin status, and social security numbers helps the system find the correct match.

Be correct. Always use full, legal names instead of nicknames, and enter compete addresses.

Be current. Enter the most recent phone numbers and addresses in Florida SHOTS or in your EHR so that patient records are up-to-date.

We're here to help! Contact our help desk at 877-888-SHOT (7468) with questions about records before attempting to make any changes that could auto-merge the records.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused healthcare providers to change how they operate to continue to provide essential services to patients. Ensuring immunization services are maintained or reinitiated is essential for protecting individuals and communities from vaccine-preventable diseases and outbreaks and reducing the burden of respiratory illness during the upcoming influenza season.

Find a collection of resources designed to guide vaccine planning during the COVID-19 pandemic: HERE

Join us for this month’s live webinar sessions in which we will discuss how Florida SHOTS can help you protect your patients and prepare for the upcoming school year. Participants will learn how to generate a reminder/recall report to identify patients who are due or overdue for any childhood and adolescent vaccines. We will also review patient’s immunization status, electronically certifying 680 forms, and creating parent PIN numbers.

Wednesday, July 8, 12:30pm

Wednesday, July 15, 12:30pm* Spanish

Thursday, July 30, 12:00pm

Keep your patients protected with essential vaccinations and well-child visits.

[Links to: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6919e2.html]