7th Annual Southwest Florida Immunization Workshop set for May 21
Over 150 health professionals learn how to increase adolescent vaccination rates
SARASOTA COUNTY – The 7th Annual Southwest Florida Immunization Workshop for health care providers will take place on Thursday, May 21, from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota at Lakewood Ranch, 7131 Professional Parkway East in Sarasota. Over 150 public health and health care providers from counties around Florida are registered to attend. This year’s workshop focuses on sharing strategies to increase immunization rates for recommended vaccines among adolescents. Vaccines recommended for adolescents include the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine, proven to prevent many forms of cancer.
There are two keynote speakers. The first speaker is Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Nurse Educator, Donna Weaver, RN, MN. She will address changes to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations and immunization schedule updates for children and adolescents. Donna Weaver will also provide an overview of barriers to adolescents receiving Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine, which isimportant for its cancer prevention properties.
The second keynote speaker is Jorge Lujan-Zilbermann, MD, Hill-Top Research, Inc. in St. Petersburg, FL. His presentation is entitled, “HPV and other Adolescent Vaccines – A Medical Provider’s Advice on Talking with Parents and Overcoming Barriers Related to Immunizing Adolescents, Including HPV Vaccine.”
Updates to Florida’s State Health Online Tracking System for immunizations (Florida SHOTS™) will also be highlighted. Additionally, epidemiologists from the Florida Department of Health will provide a presentation about vaccine-preventable disease trends and challenges from the past year.
“The greatest successes are those we cannot see, all the people who have not suffered or died from
vaccine-preventable disease.” Walter Orenstein, MD, MPH, former Assistant Surgeon General, National Immunization Conference April 29, 2002.
