HHS Testimony: Needle Fear & Impact on Vaccine Rollout

Title Slide from HHS Testimony

Dr. Amy Baxter, Medical Doctor and Pain Researcher

Panel of experts testifies before Health and Human Services on how to address needle pain & injection fear that could jeopardize COVID-19 vaccination adherence.

ATLANTA, GA, UNITED STATES, February 10, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Pain Care Labs Founder and CEO, Amy Baxter MD FAAP FACEP, testified before the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) on the urgency of needle fear and how it relates to compliance in this currently vaccinating era.

With the CDC estimating that seven percent of Americans will not get their first COVID-19 vaccine due to needle fear, the HHS Vaccine Advisory Committee hosted a public hearing on February 4-5, 2021. Experts included Dr. Baxter, speaking on the cause and consequences of needle fear identified during her NIH funded research, Dr. Guidry on the images and messaging of vaccination in the media, and Dr. McMurtry on the nature of fear and anxiety. The full meeting agenda can be viewed on the HHS website.

“We need to support people with needle fear. Pain is secondary to shame for most adults, but the dramatic increase of needle fear correlates with procedural pain in preschoolers,” explained Dr. Baxter. “Pain Care Labs has been researching both pain relief and how to address fear quickly in order to improve the immunization experience.”

Citing research on vaccination pain by fellow panelist Dr. Anna Taddio, University of Toronto, Dr. Baxter testified that 63% of people born in the year 2000 and after are afraid of needles. Dr. Taddio explained that the system in Canada is designed to reduce needle pain, with the goal of fully protecting children and without causing needle fear that follows them to adulthood. Dr. Taddio found that 7% of needle-fearing adults do not vaccinate their own children.

Dr. Baxter outlined a pathway to eradicating the COVID-19 virus. Her “optimal data-driven approach for improving a two-vaccine COVID-19 series” included addressing anxiety, vasovagal symptoms, and needle pain. Her testimony, titled "Overcoming Needle Dread", included a proposal to the NVAC: a pilot program that includes offering the patented neuromodulation platform, Buzzy, and distraction, to reduce vaccination pain and fear. She testified that Buzzy has “the most peer-reviewed positive research of any immunization intervention” and, further, that it is “the only intervention shown to significantly reduce fear.”

“It was the honor of a lifetime to be invited to testify before the HHS vaccine committee about needle fear,” Dr. Baxter reflected. “I have dedicated my life to researching and developing solutions to improve healthcare delivery. Now that needle fear is understood to be a barrier to healthcare, we can extrapolate from a large body of adjacent literature to inform the decisions we make to speed herd immunity now.”

Watch Dr. Baxter’s testimony and presentation here.

HOW IT WORKS

Buzzy^®, by Pain Care Labs, is a patented pain relief device that optimizes “gate control” pain relief by mechanically stimulating large fiber sensation nerves to overwhelm small pain nerves. The proprietary frequency of mechanical vibration combined ice to target another neural feedback path to dull or eliminate sharp pain. Buzzy has proven to reduce fear 50% and has been used to control needle pain for more than 37 million needle procedures. Over 50 independent clinical research trials indicate pain reduction of approximately 73% in children and 84% in adults. A CDC pilot also found no patient receiving an HPV vaccine had vasovagal symptoms (fainting) while using Buzzy.

To learn more about Dr. Baxter’s research, visit paincarelabs.com/research and recently published paper, “Addressing Needle Dread, Fear, and Phobia.”

ABOUT PAIN CARE LABS

Pain Care Labs is the industry leader in non-invasive pain relief solutions. Buzzy^® has been used to block pain for over 37 million needle procedures. VibraCool^® is an FDA registered 510(k) cleared device to treat myofascial pain caused by trigger points, restricted motion, and muscle tension. Established in 2006 by emergency physician and pain researcher Amy Baxter M.D., the Company is dedicated to effective, reusable, and affordable solutions for pain. The Company’s award-winning solutions are based on patented Oscillice^® M-Stim^® , a mechanical stimulation/thermal neuromodulation platform. Pain Care Labs was named "Industry Leader for Localized Pain Relief" by Frost & Sullivan, a leading market research firm. For more information, including a list of published studies, please visit PainCareLabs.com.

Sarah Lopez
Pain Care Labs
+1 877-805-2899 x 703
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Amy Baxter MD Testimonial on Needle Fear to HHS

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