Vaccines save lives from COVID and many other formerly deadly diseases

With all the recent focus on the Covid-19 pandemic and the controversies surrounding the decision to vaccinate or not, immunizations against other preventable illnesses have unfortunately suffered. Vaccines save lives, and the dip in vaccination rates for other dangerous and deadly diseases is bad for public health in our communities.

If you’re eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine and haven’t gotten it, you should do so immediately. But let’s set that aside for a moment and talk about the other immunizations that have been preventing illness in both children and adults for decades.

Vaccines play a major role in safeguarding the health and wellbeing of children in school and adults at home and work. Vaccines prevent surprises and disruptions to our everyday lives. Most importantly though, immunizations keep us together. When you receive an immunization, you’re not only protecting your own safety, but you’re also sharing the benefits with your family, friends, coworkers and anyone else with whom we are regularly in contact.

Major threats from pneumococcal disease, measles, whooping cough and the flu (influenza) have been eliminated in those who are vaccinated. These diseases and many others are all preventable thanks to medical innovations in vaccines.

Required social distancing and masking had a major impact on last year’s flu season, decreasing the transmission of the flu virus from person to person. But with the protection of the Covid-19 vaccine, easing of certain requirements and people once again gathering in large groups, this coming flu season is predicted to be more serious than in years past.

That’s why now is the time to remind everyone about the importance of following the CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule—and why we must ensure broad access to all the lifesaving vaccinations that are available today, especially for our most at-risk populations like children, senior adults and those with pre-existing conditions.

According to the CDC, approximately 50,000 people die from influenza and pneumonia each year, making it the ninth leading cause of death in the United States. The two current pneumococcal vaccines only cover about 40 of the 90 different known strains of pneumococcal disease that cause pneumonia, ear infections, sinusitis and infections in the bloodstream. Scientists have continued to develop new vaccines to fight even more strains of pneumococcal diseases, including two new vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this year.

But FDA approval is just one step in quickly getting these vaccines to the people who need them. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, must also review the vaccines and provide recommendations for who will benefit, the amount of vaccine per shot, if more than one shot is needed and how to make these immunizations available and covered.

This year we need the ACIP recommendation for the new pneumococcal vaccines to happen as quickly as possible, as it will help dictate whether Medicare Part D and other public and private insurance plans will cover these new vaccines, ensuring their accessibility and affordability to Americans nationwide. Without action from ACIP, the public health impact of falling immunization rates will worsen, especially among Medicare beneficiaries who are already at greater risk due to their age.

Another important step we can take to help seniors afford their vaccines is passing the Protecting Seniors Through Immunization Act, which is currently in the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation will ensure that Medicare Part D beneficiaries won’t face higher out-of-pocket costs for ACIP-recommended vaccines. Many Americans enrolled in Medicare Part B and other insurance plans already face zero out-of-pocket costs for vaccines, and Part D enrollees should enjoy the same benefit.

At the end of the day, vaccines are the most cost-effective way to save lives and address health disparities. For example, every $1 spent on the meningitis vaccine saves the health care system $7 in treating meningitis or its consequences—and all other immunizations carry similar cost savings. It is very important that those in need have access to these new and life-saving shots.

Every American who can be vaccinated should get vaccinated. There are some who cannot be immunized for medical reasons, and your vaccination is an investment in their future health and wellbeing as well. Remember that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and play your part in protecting Kentucky and our entire country from preventable diseases.

Dr. Patty Swiney is a family medicine physician who owns DirectCare Family Health, a direct primary care office in Paris, KY. She is Co-chair of the Kentucky Academy of Family Physicians Advocacy Committee and a past president of the organization.