ACIP Further Complicates Guidance on Pneumococcal Vaccines
WASHINGTON, DC, USA, October 21, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A statement from Bob Blancato, Executive Director of the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP), in response to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices decision on access to pneumococcal vaccines for those 65+:
“While NANASP appreciates the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices opening the door toward greater access to new pneumococcal vaccines for the 65+ population as we and 21 other organizations had advocated for, we are concerned by how difficult this door will be to enter with the conditions the Committee has placed on receiving the vaccines. Our concern about a five-year waiting period is that older adults may change doctors during that time, meaning that accurate vaccination records may be difficult to access. Further, these stipulations will do nothing to help the concerns of inequitable access to vaccines. We have also already seen studies that show that physicians find shared clinical decision-making recommendations difficult to understand and implement. Though this decision may have been intended to clarify pneumococcal vaccine guidance, it actually might leave physicians and patients more confused.”
About NANASP
Founded in 1977, NANASP is proud to be a leading organization advocating for community-based senior nutrition programs and staff. Our member programs represent a wide range of essential services providers who support the nutrition, health and life quality of seniors.
With over 1,100 members from across the United States, we are national advocates for senior health and wellbeing who strengthen the policies and programs that nourish seniors. We accomplish this mission through a collective national voice and through local community action.
NANASP is an active member of the aging network and works collaboratively with key coalitions, including the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations, the Elder Justice Coalition, and Defeat Malnutrition Today, on issues which concern the older adults our members serve, such as nutrition, Medicare and Medicaid, elder justice, Social Security and other retirement security issues, transportation, and older workers’ issues.
“While NANASP appreciates the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices opening the door toward greater access to new pneumococcal vaccines for the 65+ population as we and 21 other organizations had advocated for, we are concerned by how difficult this door will be to enter with the conditions the Committee has placed on receiving the vaccines. Our concern about a five-year waiting period is that older adults may change doctors during that time, meaning that accurate vaccination records may be difficult to access. Further, these stipulations will do nothing to help the concerns of inequitable access to vaccines. We have also already seen studies that show that physicians find shared clinical decision-making recommendations difficult to understand and implement. Though this decision may have been intended to clarify pneumococcal vaccine guidance, it actually might leave physicians and patients more confused.”
About NANASP
Founded in 1977, NANASP is proud to be a leading organization advocating for community-based senior nutrition programs and staff. Our member programs represent a wide range of essential services providers who support the nutrition, health and life quality of seniors.
With over 1,100 members from across the United States, we are national advocates for senior health and wellbeing who strengthen the policies and programs that nourish seniors. We accomplish this mission through a collective national voice and through local community action.
NANASP is an active member of the aging network and works collaboratively with key coalitions, including the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations, the Elder Justice Coalition, and Defeat Malnutrition Today, on issues which concern the older adults our members serve, such as nutrition, Medicare and Medicaid, elder justice, Social Security and other retirement security issues, transportation, and older workers’ issues.
Jen Daly
Gray Media Group
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