May 7, 2008
The Honorable Henry A. Waxman
U.S. House of Representatives
2204 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Waxman:
I write today to express the strong support and endorsement of the Infectious
Diseases Society of America for H.R. 4990, the Vaccines for Children Access
Act of 2008, and H.R. 4993, the Vaccines for the Uninsured Adult Act of 2008.
These two critical pieces of legislation will provide access to vaccines for
millions of children, adolescents and adults and help reduce the number of
vaccine-preventable deaths (VPDs) in this country. Your leadership in
introducing these bills is greatly appreciated by our members.
IDSA represents more than 8,000 infectious diseases physicians and scientists
devoted to patient care, education, research, prevention, and public health. Our
members care for patients of all ages with serious infections, including
meningitis, pneumonia, TB, antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections such as
MRSA, and those with cancer or transplants who have life-threatening infections
caused by unusual microorganisms, food poisoning, and HIV/AIDS, as well as
emerging infections.
The use of vaccines to prevent infectious diseases is one of the greatest public
health successes of the twentieth century, and vaccines are one of the more cost-
effective tools available for disease prevention. For every dollar spent on
vaccines, the United States saves up to $27 in medical and societal costs. Each
year, routine childhood immunizations save $10 billion in direct medical costs
and over $33.4 billion in indirect societal costs. Routine immunizations also
prevent an estimated 14 million cases of disease and 33,000 deaths per year.
IDSA strongly supports extending more of this success to adults by
strengthening the public sector’s ability to immunize this population.
Enactment of the Vaccines for Children Access Act would expand the category
of under-insured children and adolescents who are eligible for the Vaccines for
Children (VFC) program to include under-insured children and adolescents who
are vaccinated at any public health clinic, including a state health department
clinic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Section 317 Program
is intended to support, among its many responsibilities, immunization at public
health clinic settings. However, the 317 Program’s capacity is limited by
funding, and it cannot cover all needy children. Thus, H.R. 4990 will address a
significant gap in childhood immunization coverage.
PAGE TWO—IDSA H.R. 4990 / 4993 Letter to Representative Waxman
The Vaccines for the Uninsured Adult Act would provide routinely recommended vaccines to
eligible adults through an entitlement program modeled largely on the successful VFC program.
In doing so, H.R. 4993 would help reduce the estimated 46,700 deaths per year from adult
vaccine-preventable diseases. Unimmunized adults face illness and death from diseases such as
influenza, pneumococcal disease, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps, and rubella.
Current levels of vaccine coverage among adults continue to fall well short of the Department
of Health and Human Services’ recommended goal of 90 percent coverage. This bill will make
a huge difference in reversing this trend by providing greater access to available vaccines.
IDSA recognizes the challenges this bill poses in establishing a new mandatory funding
program in a time of dwindling resources. However, the enormity of the problem of under-
vaccinated adults makes it imperative that Congress act with the utmost urgency to protect the
lives of those Americans who can benefit from available vaccines.
Again, thank you for taking the lead on one of the most important public health issues of our
day. IDSA appreciates your leadership in introducing these important measures and stands
ready to work with you to enact them during the current Congress. Please feel free to contact
Michael Ochs, IDSA Government Relations Associate, at (703) 740-4790, or by email at
mochs@idsociety.org, if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Donald Poretz
President