25-0007 Strengthening Vaccine Preventable Disease Prevention and Response - The West Virginia Immunization Services Division (ISD) provides immunization services to West Virginia residents from birth throughout the natural lifespan. The West Virginia Department of Health started the state's Immunization Program in 1963 at which time it began to provide public-purchased vaccines to both public and private providers alike. This is to protect the public against measles, polio, and pertussis. West Virginia has 47 local health departments and a total of 426 provider sites emolled in the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. The ISD requests 2025 funding to support efforts to plan, develop, and maintain immunization infrastructure that helps assure high immunization coverage levels and low incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD). All vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for children 0-18 years of age are provided for VFC-eligible children at the state's VFC-emolled provider sites. State funding is utilized to provide pediatric vaccines for select children ineligible for VFC vaccines and are not able to obtain vaccinations in their primary care home. Adult vaccines such as TDAP, pneumococcal, shingles, hepatitis B and influenza are also provided utilizing 317 Direct Assistance funding for adults whose insurance does not cover vaccines. For the project period of 7/1/2025 - 6/30/2026 the ISD proposes to increase immunization coverage rates across the lifespan through immunization quality improvement programs for children, and adolescents by providing infrastructure sub-grants to local and regional groups that vaccinate and promote best practices for both children and adults. The ISD staff will conduct quality improvement and compliance site visits to at least 50% of the state's VFC provider sites (25% of each type of visit). The ISD staff assure adequate supplies of vaccines for all eligible children at each provider site and monitor vaccine storage and handling practices and temperature logs. The ISD will continue to conduct surveys of new school enterers to assure high coverage rates of school enterers at kindergarten and continue a robust perinatal hepatitis B prevention program that will monitor HBsAg positive pregnant women and their newborns to assure complete vaccinations, post-exposure prophylaxis, and post-vaccination serologic testing. The ISD's grant-funded activities will be targeted to maintain and increase immunization coverage across the lifespan and reduce disparities among all populations by geographic location, or urban/rural designation. The ISD activities will also be designed to increase readiness to respond to outbreaks of VPD including pandemics and will seek to improve VPD surveillance systems.
