Immunization Action Coalition

“There are no material differences in voting rights among members of the governing body, and the governing body has not delegated broad authority to an executive committee or similar committee.”

“Iac's bylaws provide that deborah l. Wexler, md, is the sole member of the corporation. She is entitled to elect the board of directors and to take other member action, including adding other members to the corporation. Dr. Wexler has not taken any action as the sole member of the organization other than to appoint professionals to the board of directors for the purpose of promoting iac's goals and mission.”

“See comment above for part vi, line 6.”

“The organization has a small board of directors. There are no separate committees of the board of directors.”

“Review of form 990. The organization's staff provides necessary documentation and data via questionnaires to the accountant. Once the draft of the form 990 has been prepared by the accountant, the organization's management reviews the form for accuracy. When the draft is approved by management, the 990 is sent by electronic means to each board member for review and approval. If there are any changes, they will be incorporated into the draft. Once the board has approved the 990, management conveys approval to the accountant to finalize the draft. The final form 990 is signed by the executive director and filed in a timely manner with the appropriate state and federal authorities. Form 990 is available for public review on www.guidestar.org”

“Written conflict of interest policy. Annually the board, management and all employees review and sign their copies of the conflict of interest policy to disclose any conflicts. Copies are reviewed by management for reportable conflicts. Any conflicts are noted in the board minutes. Board members that have conflicts of interest are prohibited from participating or voting in board activities related to the conflict.”

“Compensation of executive director. The organization gathers comparable pay data from the state of mn and the mn council of nonprofit salary and benefits survey to determine fairness. Annual review of executive director's salary and benefits is approved by the board, with the executive director excused from the conversation and voting. The executive director received the same percentage increase in her salary as did the rest of the staff. This process was last conducted in september 2014.”

“The immunization action coalition does not make its articles of incorporation, bylaws, conflict of interest policy, or financial statements available to the general public.”

“The immunization action coalition (iac) works to increase immunization rates and prevent disease by creating and distributing educational materials for health professionals and the public that enhance the delivery of safe and effective immunization services. Iac also facilitates communication about the safety, efficacy, and use of vaccines within the broad immunization community of patients, parents, health care organizations, and government health agencies.”

“Program: education iac creates publications and educational materials for healthcare professional staff, their patients, and the public. All of these publications and materials are available online and copyright-free. Needle tips: frontline healthcare professionals rely on needle tips for its up-to-date, practice-oriented information on the national recommendations for childhood, adolescent, and adult immunization. A 24 to 30 page periodical, published quarterly, needle tips is the only publication of its kind in the united states. The technical content of each issue is reviewed by the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc). In fiscal year 2015, iac published four online issues of needle tips in both pdf and magazine view formats. Current and past issues are available on the iac website at www.immunize.org/nt. Vaccinate adults: vaccinate adults is cdc-reviewed and provides concise, readable, up-to-date information tailored for busy healthcare professionals whose practices are focused on adults. A 16 to 24 page periodical, vaccinate adults is published quarterly. In fiscal year 2015, iac published four online issues of vaccinate adults in both pdf and magazine view formats. Current and past issues are available on the iac website at www.immunize.org/va. Iac express: currently emailed free of charge to nearly 50,000 opt-in subscribers every wednesday, iac express provides up-to-date information about new and updated cdc vaccine recommendations, new fda vaccine licensures, newly released vaccine information statements, new immunization education materials, current events in the vaccine world, and journal articles. Special editions of iac express are also published when there are urgent matters to be reported on. During fiscal year 2015, iac published 62 issues of iac express containing more than 870 articles on vaccines and vaccine- preventable diseases. The current issue, as well as the more than 1,200 issues published since iac express's beginning in 1997, is available online at www.immunize.org/express. Ask the experts: ask the experts is a recurring feature of needle tips, vaccinate adults, iac express, and www.immunize.org in which cdc experts answer challenging and timely questions about vaccines and their administration. Questions are gathered from iac's close communications with clinicians who provide immunization services as well as from iac and cdc staff who analyze the latest changes to vaccine recommendations. Nearly 1,100 q&as are available online at www.immunize.org/askexperts. Unprotected people reports: since 1998, iac has collected and published personal stories and case reports of people who have suffered or died from vaccine-preventable diseases. We believe that unprotected people reports are extremely important in helping parents and the media understand the value of vaccines. These reports can be particularly effective in countering stories claiming harm from vaccines. Currently, 109 reports are available on-line at www.immunize.org/reports. Educational materials for healthcare professionals, their patients, and the public: iac is the most relied upon source of free cdc-reviewed immunization materials for healthcare professionals, their patients, and the public. During fiscal year 2015, 3.3 million copies of iac's 331 educational pieces were downloaded. All of iac's educational materials are available online free of charge and ready-to-copy at www.immunize.org/handouts. Iac believes it is very important to provide information for non-english speaking patients and the public. We currently provide spanish translations of 50 of our patient/parent handouts. Some of these pieces are also translated into several of 10 additional languages. Translations of vaccine information statements (viss):for more than a decade, iac has maintained an online index of the federally mandated viss for which hundreds of translations are available. The index can be viewed at www.immunize.org/vis and can be sorted alphabetic”

“Website for healthcare professionals www.immunize.org: launched in 1994, one of the earliest websites devoted to immunization, www.immunize.org is the largest resource of practical, user-friendly immunization information available today, serving an average of more than 20,000 visitors per day in fiscal year 2015. The website makes available more than 4,700 web pages dedicated to educating healthcare professionals and the public about vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases. Currently, the site ranks number one in google when searching on the term "immunize." some awards for website excellence are listed on www.immunize.org/aboutus/awards.asp. This website houses all of iac's publications and educational materials. They are available free of charge and users are encouraged to copy and distribute them. This collection includes all viss published in the united states in dozens of languages and some in alternative formats. In the past twelve months, users downloaded 5.7 million ready-to-copy (pdf) documents from the website, including approximately 2.3 million viss and their translations. Other noteworthy sections of the website include acip recommendations, fda product approval, vaccine policy statements from the american academy of pediatrics, diseases and vaccines, clinic resources, school-located vaccination, state vaccination laws, image library of vaccine-preventable diseases, and video of the week. Iac expert staff members continually review the recent immunization literature and select hundreds of journal articles each year dealing with practical topics such as parental concerns about vaccines, providing vaccination services, immunization exemptions, and many others, and present links to those articles on the website at www.immunize.org/journalarticles. These selected journal articles, currently numbering more than 4,700, provide members of iac's professional audience with the ability to quickly keep up to date with the literature, finding the latest practical articles on topics of importance to them. Website for the public,vaccine information you need www.vaccineinformation.org: developed in consultation with cdc, this website for the general public presents straightforward information about vaccine-preventable diseases and their vaccines. Launched in august 2002, it currently serves an average of more than 5,000 visitors per day, making more than 450 pages available. It provides basic information about vaccination, vaccine safety, and the overall importance of immunization, and features more than 250 vaccine-preventable disease photos and approximately 180 video clips. A major redesign was completed in january 2013 to provide better navigation and an improved layout of information about vaccination across the lifespan. Major sections include infants/children, preteens, teens, and adults. The website offers parents and people of all ages timely, accurate, and proven information about vaccines and the diseases they prevent. Hundreds of valuable resources, including personal testimonies of suffering and loss due to vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-related videos and public service announcements, and educational materials from trusted organizations are featured. Online database of immunization coalitions www.izcoalitions.org: this website provides access to an interactive online database of local, state, regional, national, and international immunization coalitions. The database allows interested healthcare professionals, parents, immunization advocates, and others to contact immunization coalitions for resources, ideas, or volunteering. Currently, 218 immunization coalitions have entered information about their structure and activities. Work has begun on a major redesign and expansion of the database information. Adult vaccination resources library: this searchable online library of adult immunization resources gathers adult immunization resources into one location, allowing healthcare providers and the general publi”

“Program: partnering for immunization iac is broadly and deeply connected to every level of the united states immunization community. We serve as an independent "communications hub" through our publications, websites, email news services, conference organizing and participation, contributions to policy making, and direct contact with every vaccine-involved federal agency, state health department, professional medical association, and vaccine manufacturer. Virtually all of america's professional medical societies partner with iac as members of our advisory board. A list of these societies is available online at www.immunize.org/aboutus/advisoryboard.asp. National adult and influenza immunization summit (naiis): the naiis is a partnership led by cdc, the national vaccine program office, and iac, of more than 140 organizations represented by over 800 individuals, resulting from combining the national influenza vaccine summit (nivs) and the national adult immunization summit (nais). Iac's chief strategy officer, dr. L.j tan, while at the ama in the year 2000, founded the nivs, which was at that time a joint venture of the american medical association (through 2012) and cdc. Since 2003, iac has been a leading member both nivs and naiis, continuing to serve as the naiis fiscal agent and managing its website at www.izsummitpartners.org. The five naiis work groups take specific actions that lead to improvements in vaccine uptake. Vaccination interventions for nursing assistants and aides (vinaa): the goal of the vinaa project is to prevent influenza and pneumonia among residents and healthcare providers in long-term care facilities (ltcfs) by improving vaccination rates among nursing assistants. Vinaa is a multiple phase collaboration between iac and ofstead & associates, inc. (an independent public health research firm) to implement a customized, evidence-based program in ltcfs in four midwestern states, followed by evaluation and dissemination of information about the project. The project is funded by a partnership grant from pfizer inc. And will end in spring 2016. National network for immunization coalitions: iac founded the national network for immunization coalitions in 2012. Iac manages the group's communications and deliberations, including an email listserv, newsletters, website, and also conducts teleconference calls of the coalition directors. Iac also arranges speakers for bimonthly conference calls and webinars attended by an average of 118 participants. Currently, the network comprises approximately 600 immunization advocates, including representatives from more than 250 coalitions. Iac has served on the planning committee for the biennial national conference for immunization coalitions and partnerships (formerly the national conference on immunization and health coalitions) since the conference began in 1998. Immunization policy and conferences: iac is deeply involved in state and national vaccine policy making. Some examples: for more than a decade, dr. Wexler, dr. Tan, iac's associate director for immunization education dr. William l. Atkinson, and iac's associate director for immunization projects ms. Diane peterson have filled important consulting positions on many advisory committee on immunization practices (acip) working groups, including childhood immunization schedule, adult immunization schedule, general recommendations, combination vaccines, influenza, herpes zoster, evidence-based, pneumococcal, hepatitis, pertussis, and meningococcal-hib. Dr. Tan is a former voting member of the national vaccine advisory committee (nvac) and has served as chair of its immunization infrastructure working group, as well as serving on the vaccine safety, maternal immunization, adult immunization, health care personnel, and vaccine confidence working groups. Dr. Wexler and dr. Tan co-lead iac's adult vaccine policy group, which holds a monthly conference call of adult immunization partner organizations across the nation to discu”

“Iac's editorial and operations assistant, janelle anderson, represents iac as part of the national task force on hepatitis b: focus on asian and pacific islander americans. She participates in monthly calls and attended the national task force face-to-face meeting in dallas, tx, in 2015. Hepatitis b vaccine birth dose project: for more than a decade, iac has helped lead the national effort to ensure that every newborn receives a birth dose of hepatitis b vaccine prior to discharge from the newborn nursery. We have completed a guidebook for implementing birth dose policies titled hepatitis b: what hospitals need to do to protect newborns and have recently launched a national campaign urging birthing institutions to adopt hepatitis b vaccine birth dose policies. As part of this initiative, iac has developed the hepatitis b vaccine birth dose honor roll. To be included in the honor roll, a birthing institution must have: (1) reported a coverage rate of 90% or greater, over a 12-month period, for administering hepatitis b vaccine before hospital discharge to all newborns, including those whose parents refuse vaccination, and (2) implemented specific written policies, procedures, and protocols to protect all newborns from hepatitis b virus infection prior to hospital discharge. Honorees are listed on iac's website, awarded a certificate, and featured in iac express. Currently, the honor roll includes more than 200 birthing institutions. School-located vaccination network: iac continues to work toward its goal of becoming the central location for promoting and developing school-located vaccination programs (slv). The slv web section online at www.immunize.org/school-vaccination features resources and materials from across the u.s. The slv listserv enables the nation's leaders in school-located vaccination to communicate and collaborate on a continuing basis. Honor roll for patient safety: in 2009, iac created the honor roll for patient safety, which recognizes healthcare settings that have implemented mandatory influenza vaccination policies for their healthcare staff. To date, more than 500 healthcare institutions have been honored. The honorees are listed at www.immunize.org/honor-roll. Voices for vaccines: after conceiving the idea for a membership organization of parents dedicated to promoting the value of immunization, dr. Wexler co-founded voices for vaccines along with dr. Stanley plotkin and dr. Paul offit. Vaccine facts and policy public database: in collaboration with george washington university and the association of immunization managers, iac has created an online database of statistics and policies covering each of the 50 states, washington, dc, the eight u.s. Territories, and the five major cities with federally funded immunization programs. The data for the vaccine facts and policy project are divided into five major topic areas including: demographics and rates, fiscal environment, law and policy, strategies and initiatives, and the structure of immunization programs. Each major topic area is subdivided into areas that allow the user to customize their queries in order to locate information on specific immunization law and policy topics, including, but not limited to: correctional facilities, coverage rates, healthcare personnel, immunization information systems, medicaid, school entry requirements, and standing orders. Information resource and customer service: iac makes a tremendous effort to answer email and phone inquiries from healthcare professionals and the public in a timely and accurate manner. Staff members respond to thousands of email messages and phone calls each month. Iac in the media: iac staff members are often called on to provide accurate information to print, radio, television, and internet news media. Some recent contacts with media include the abc news, elsevier journal, fox news, infectious disease news, journal of the american medical association, kaiser health news, media planet, medscape, n”

“The organization took steps to safeguard its exempt status by incorporating certain terms and conditions into the joint venture contract: i. Control over the content and implementation of the project to ensure the project serves only the organization's mission. Ii. Absence of any revenue production iii. Absence of any activities violative of the organization's tax exempt status requirements”

“Database consultant: program service expenses 8,065. Management and general expenses 63. Fundraising expenses 18. Total expenses 8,146. Design consultant: program service expenses 19,053. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 19,053. Admin consultant: program service expenses 0. Management and general expenses 12,550. Fundraising expenses 8,581. Total expenses 21,131. Misc consultant: program service expenses 71,194. Management and general expenses 847. Fundraising expenses 242. Total expenses 72,283. Writer/epidemiologist consultant: program service expenses 42,994. Management and general expenses 4,532. Fundraising expenses 244. Total expenses 47,770. Research/grant/writer consultant: program service expenses 9,493. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 9,493. Projects consultant: program service expenses 46,964. Management and general expenses 7,814. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 54,778. Writer/technical review consultant: program service expenses 8,354. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 8,354. Public health coordinator: program service expenses 84,721. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 84,721. Creative consultant: program service expenses 38,861. Management and general expenses 73. Fundraising expenses 1,705. Total expenses 40,639. Director of iz education: program service expenses 20,708. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 20,708. Translations: program service expenses 35,734. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 35,734. Benefit and payroll service fees: program service expenses 1,362. Management and general expenses 105. Fundraising expenses 30. Total expenses 1,497. Ofstead and associates, inc.: program service expenses 313,309. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 313,309. Payroll service fee: program service expenses 1,911. Management and general expenses 221. Fundraising expenses 42. Total expenses 2,174. Editing consultant: program service expenses 8,104. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 2,050. Total expenses 10,154.”