• One type of pneumococcal disease is pneumonia which causes significant illness in adults 65 years and older, and is responsible for nearly 60,000 deaths each year in the US.
• Two kinds of pneumococcal vaccines are available in the U.S. to help prevent pneumococcal disease. The 2016 estimate of pneumococcal vaccination coverage among adults ≥65 years of age for NM was 72.6%. 
• Effort was made in FY17 to establish a foundation for increasing awareness of the burden and immunizations, collaboration with external stakeholders and to enhance what we understand about the true nature of vaccination rates in New Mexico.
• Progress made in FY17 was possible with continued effort to do presentations and share data and our analysis with external partners throughout the state including Indian Health Services, who are working within tribal communities that experience the state’s highest mortality disparities from pneumonia.  Ongoing, concerted effort has also established promising network opportunities with other key stakeholders like managed care organizations (MCOs). 
• For FY18, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) Epidemiology and Response Division (ERD) hopes to continue the progress we have made in FY17 regarding; increasing awareness,  strengthening collaborations, and enhancing information.

• University of NM
• NM Immunization Coalition
• NM Office of the Medical Investigator
• NM Association for Professionals in Infection Control & Epidemiology
• NMDOH regional health promotion teams
• School districts and schools
• Hospital infection control practitioners
• Indian Health Service
• Albuquerque Area Southwest Tribal Epidemiology Center
• Navajo Epidemiology Center
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• National Emerging Infections Program

• Make available standing orders for nurses to administer vaccines as recommended without a physician order.
• Provide vaccination in non-traditional settings where elders congregate (e.g., churches, senior centers).

• Measure the percentage of adults ≥65 years of age who receive pneumococcal vaccine.
• Measure the impact of House Bill 274 over time to see if more adults ≥65 years of age are receiving pneumococcal vaccine in hospitals prior to discharge.
• Link the New Mexico Statewide Immunization Information System to health system data to capture vaccination history among adults ≥65 years of age in New Mexico.
• Educate providers and policymakers on current NM pneumococcal vaccination rates among adults ≥65 years of age.

 The Epidemiology and Response Division, Infectious Disease Epidemiology Bureau (IDEB) will work to increase the percentage of New Mexico adults aged 65 years and older who have ever received a pneumococcal vaccination.

• Q1: Obtain 2015 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System vaccination data. Completed.
• Q2: Update Emerging Infections Program data regarding invasive pneumococcal disease and the pneumococcal vaccination for presentation to partners at the NM Immunization Coalition Meeting in December 2016. Completed.
• Q3: Work with NM hospitals to ensure that they have a mechanism in place to vaccinate hospitalized adults ≥65 years of age, prior to discharge, who have not received pneumococcal vaccine. Completed.
• Q4: Publish an Epidemiology Report targeted at clinicians and policymakers on Streptococcus pneumoniae to influence the use of immunizations, including the pneumococcal vaccination, and antimicrobial medications statewide. Incomplete.

In 2017, IDEB raised awareness about invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in New Mexico by presenting information in a variety of settings to different groups. Presentations to the New Mexico Immunization Coalition, New Mexico Immunization Practices Advisory Committee, Crownpoint Service Unit Medical Providers, and other groups that focused on IPD and pneumonia and influenza death rates were successful. The implementation of House Bill 274 as a new law has involved collaboration between IDEB, the NMDOH Public Health Division Immunization Program, the NMDOH Division of Health Improvement, HealthInsight New Mexico, and the New Mexico Hospital Association. IDEB has also engaged the large health insurance carriers in the state (Presbyterian, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, Molina) to get pneumococcal vaccination rate data for people 65 years of age and older.