Help 42 million Americans get access to pneumonia vaccine
NEW YORK -- February 22, 2012 -- The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (part of the CDC) met today in Atlanta and rather than allow patients aged 50 to 65 have direct, insurance-covered access to a pneumonia vaccine, they delayed a decision on this already-FDA-approved medication until sometime in 2013.
Where do we stand currently? The existing Pneumovax 23 vaccine has been approved by the FDA for patients as young as 50. However, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices currently restricts it to children and people over 65, unless the patients are in a high-risk category. "High-risk category" becomes a subjective crap shoot — sometimes arthritis patients aged 50 - 65 can obtain the existing Pneumovax 23 vaccine due to their illness. But most of the time we cannot, due to physician, insurance and pharmacy holdups. This week, the CDC kept the minimum age for direct access to this existing vaccine at 65.
The new vaccine Prevnar 13, bringing additional supplies to the national health pool, would immediately cover the more than 42 million people between 50 and 65 that the current drug misses (as well as the more than 72 million people aged 65 and older if needed). The FDA has already approved the vaccine for ages 50 and up. But again, this week the CDC prevented Americans aged 50 - 65 from having direct access (despite having before approved it for children).
Having the CDC's approval, again, means that the cost will be covered for all Medicare and Medicaid patients, as well as most private insurers (vaccinations are already being paid for in patient premiums). All three groups are eager to provide such medication as it helps save costs down the road. Most patients need the financial help due to large, existing medical bills. But the CDC has to give the proper guidance.
Read the press release from GHLF explaining the vaccine
Learn more about the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
WATCH: Pneumonia Vaccine Caught in CDC Maze (3:43)
GHLF President Seth Ginsberg sits down with WNBC's Chuck Scarborough to discuss how the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices failed to approve FDA-approved pneumonia vaccines for the 42 million Americans aged 50-65.
About the Global Healthy Living Foundation
The Global Healthy Living Foundation (GHLF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit advocacy organization based in New York, with the mission to improve the quality of life for people with chronic illness. We accomplish our mission by advocating for improved access to care and by educating communities about the importance of diagnosis, early and innovative medical intervention, long-term lifestyle improvement, and therapeutic compliance.
PRESS RELEASE
If CDC acts, Younger Seniors Will Get Pneumonia Vaccine
Upper Nyack, NY -- February 9, 2012 -- The 42 million people in the U.S. who are between 50 and 65 may soon have a new vaccine to prevent pneumococcal pneumonia – a virulent form of the disease estimated to infect between 5 and 10 million people a year in the United States, and killing between 40,000 to 70,000 annually, according to the Global Healthy Living Foundation.
"This is a chance to positively impact the vaccination rate for adults, and hopefully save lives and reduce the cost of healthcare," says pulmonologist Dr. Neil Schachter, MD, author of the popular books, "Life and Breath" and "The Good Doctor's Guide To Colds and Flu."
The new drug, Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine, has been fast-tracked by the Food and Drug Administration, and is on the market under the brand name Prevnar 13. It is now awaiting final guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which meets February 23, 2012. The guidance ensures Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance will pay for the drug. The advisory committee has already approved it for children.
Another vaccine, Pneumovax 23, is also FDA-approved for people as young as 50, but ACIP guidance currently restricts it to children and people over 65, unless they are in a high-risk category, so Prevnar13 will cover the more than 42 million people between 50 and 65 the current drug misses, as well as the more than 72 million people 65 and older, and children.
"We would like to see the ACIP align itself with the FDA recommendations and provide guidance that allows both vaccines to be available to this younger audience, because without ACIP guidance for the lower age, Medicare, Medicaid and many private insurers won't cover the vaccination for this vulnerable 50-65-year-old population segment," Louis Tharp, GHLF executive director said.
"Pneumococcal pneumonia is a very high mortality disease," Dr. Schachter says. "It claims the life of 12 percent of those people hospitalized with the condition, so prevention is critical," he adds.
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center men are 30 percent more likely than women to die from the condition, and even when they survive, they are likely to die earlier than if they had not contracted the disease.
Medpage, a medical website, estimates that pneumococcal vaccination among high-risk adults under 65 is only 18.5 percent, compared with 59.7 percent for people over 65.
The CDC, in its 2010 National Health Interview Survey released February 3, 2012, found, "only limited recent improvements in vaccination coverage among adults in the United States. Substantial increases are needed to reduce the occurrence of vaccine-preventable diseases among adults."
Vaccines, because of their preventive capabilities, are by far the most cost-effective medicines on the market today, but they are often viewed as children's drugs. Recently however, adult vaccines such as those for shingles and pneumonia, have joined flu vaccines as popular adult medications.
About:
The Global Healthy Living Foundation is a non-profit organization that educates people with chronic disease about how to live healthier lives through diet, exercise, a strong physician/patient relationship and access to health services. ghlf.org Contact: Louis Tharp, Executive Director, (845) 348-0400. ltharp@ghlf.org
To download the press release as a Microsoft Word document (27 KB) click here