Marin County Public Health Newsletter - March 2023
Marin County Public Health Newsletter - March 2023Marin County Public Health Newsletter - March 2023
Marin County Public Health Newsletter - March 2023
In this Issue: Updated Reportable Disease Dashboards | World TB Day | CAIR Registry Legislation | Monkeypox (MPX) Vaccine Eligibility Update | Message from the Public Health Officer
A message to physicians and other health care providers from Marin County's Public Health Officer.
Updated Reportable Disease Dashboards
While we remain vigilant in our COVID response, Marin County Public Health is also going back to the basics. You can still stay up to date with COVID surveillance, but you can also review our new reportable disease dashboard. This dashboard shows the counts and rates of the county's most prevalent, reportable communicable diseases, such as chlamydia, hepatitis B, salmonella, tuberculosis, and others. Yearly disease case counts and rates are shown by race/ethnicity, age, and gender.
World Tuberculosis Day is annually recognized on March 24th in honor of the day Dr. Robert Koch discovered Mycobacterium tuberculosis in 1882 (CDC). In 2022, there was a five percent increase in TB cases in California. California’s annual TB incidence was 4.7 cases per 100,000 persons; nearly double the national incidence rate. The vast majority of TB cases (86%) were attributable to progression of LTBI to active TB. Providers should complete a TB Risk Assessment, screen for LTBI when indicated, and discuss the benefits of LTBI treatment with patients when indicated. Health care providers must complete a confidential online report for all suspect and active tuberculosis cases among Marin County residents.
CAIR Registry Legislation
On January 1, 2023, AB 1797 became effective. All health care providers must now enter patient immunization records and demographics, including race and ethnicity, in the California Immunization Registry (CAIR). CAIR integrates millions of patient records and enables providers and pharmacies to submit immunization records, find missing doses for patients, view immunization reports, and more. This database informs local Public Health efforts to increase vaccination rates among undervaccinated populations.
Monkeypox (MPX) Vaccine Eligibility Update
Anyone who wants protection from MPX infection may receive the MPX vaccine. There is no shortage of MPX vaccines now. Anyone at risk of getting MPX can now receive the JYNNEOS vaccine to prevent infection. Healthcare providers can now offer the intradermal or subcutaneous regimen based on patient preference. Due to stigma related to vaccine administration, patient preference of vaccine route should be a consideration. For a detailed list of priority groups for vaccination and a list of providers offering MPX vaccines, please visit the Marin HHS Monkeypox (MPX) webpage.
Message from the Public Health Officer
The past few weeks have been marked by milestones pointing toward the eventual end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Resuming this monthly newsletter after three years is one small example. For historical interest, here's an excerpt from our last pre-pandemic edition.
February 2020: Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update This week, we saw a rapid change in the global spread of COVID-19 and saw the first possible case of community-acquired COVID-19 in the United States. We also coordinated the transfer of an asymptomatic COVID-19 case, a passenger on the Diamond Princess, from Travis Air Force Base to a local hospital. We understand that you may also be receiving increased inquiries regarding COVID-19. We have created a new website for healthcare providers and continue to update our public website.
Dr. Santora and I are grateful for the remarkable partnership with you, our healthcare providers, as we responded to "increased inquiries" and navigated our community through three years of uncertainty, disease and healing together. Our goal is to build on the strong local relationship between public health and healthcare to create an even healthier Marin.
se, Marin County Public Health is also going back to the basics. You can still stay up to date with 
Anyone who wants protection from MPX infection may receive the MPX vaccine. There is no shortage of MPX vaccines now. Anyone at risk of getting MPX can now receive the JYNNEOS vaccine to prevent infection. Healthcare providers can now offer the intradermal or subcutaneous regimen based on patient preference. Due to stigma related to vaccine administration, patient preference of vaccine route should be a consideration. For a detailed list of priority groups for vaccination and a list of providers offering MPX vaccines, please visit the 
Message from the Public Health Officer
