Bills Seek Free Vaccines for Uninsured Adults

The effort would provide vaccines against the viruses that cause cervical cancer, seasonal influenzas, certain forms of pneumonia, hepatitis B, and shingles, among others.

The bills would also change a similar program for youngsters—called Vaccinations for Children (VFC)—to allow under-insured kids who qualify to get free vaccines at any public health clinic. “Underinsured” is a term used for individuals with healthcare insurance that provides only partial coverage.

The recently proposed package of legislation would create “Vaccines for Uninsured Adults,” modeled on the existing program for children.

The package of bills would also fund efforts to educate the public about the importance of adult immunizations, and provide grants to strengthen state adult immunization efforts, according to Roybal-Allard, a Democrat whose seat in the U.S. House Representative covers a territory that includes Downtown, portions of the Pico-Union and Westlake districts to the west, most of the Eastside, and several cities in southeastern Los Angeles County.

Roybal-Allard joined with colleagues Henry Waxman, who represents portions of the Westside in the House of Representatives, and U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, in introducing the pieces of legislation.

“We are fortunate to have highly effective vaccines that will prevent death and disability and save billions of dollars in health costs annually,” Roybal-Allard said, “but they can't work unless we take decisive steps to ensure their universal availability and utilization.”

Kennedy said that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that more than 42,000 adults die every year from diseases that could be prevented with vaccines, adding that fewer than 30% of adults at high-risk for influenza receive a vaccine.

“As new vaccines become available against more diseases, we need to do more to see that uninsured and underinsured adults and children will benefit,” Kennedy said. “Under the bills we are introducing...many more adults and children in communities across America will have access to these life-saving discoveries, and the nation as a whole will be better prepared to avoid or reduce the threat of a pandemic.”

Indeed, the bills would also provide the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services with authority to keep track of the amounts of the vaccines that are available during periods of shortages.

The legislation would also require drug companies to provide one year’s notice, when feasible, of any plans to stop manufacturing a particular vaccine

Shortages of vaccines can occur for many reasons and are often unpredictable, according to the authors of the legislation. They cited recent reports that Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck & Co. recently ran into manufacturing problems that will likely lead to a shortage of pediatric meningitis and pneumonia vaccines in coming months (see related story on “Cholesterol,” home page).