Now in effect: Update to influenza immunization performance measure
In October, The Joint Commission updated its Influenza Immunization Measure (IMM-2) for hospitals and critical access hospitals to align with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) updated guidance for patients hospitalized with COVID-19. IMM-2 captures screening and vaccination of acute care hospitalized inpatients who are six months or older and discharged between October through March.
According to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), “For patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 who are symptomatic, healthcare personnel should consider deferring (postponing) influenza vaccination for at least the isolation period AND until COVID-19 symptoms are improving AND the patient is no longer moderately to severely ill. Consider further deferring vaccination until the patient has fully recovered from the acute illness.”
The measure data element Influenza Vaccination Status allowable value 4 has been updated to align with the CDC recommendations to defer influenza vaccination for hospitalized, symptomatic COVID-19 patients. The bold text in the following content highlights this update:
- “Patients who have an allergy/sensitivity to the influenza vaccine, anaphylactic latex allergy or anaphylactic allergy to eggs, or for whom the vaccine is not likely to be effective because of bone marrow transplant within the past 6 months, or history of Guillian-Barré syndrome within 6 weeks after a previous influenza vaccination, or symptomatic suspected or confirmed COVID-19.”
The updated content has been added to the Specifications Manual. Performance measure questions may be submitted on the same page.