RDASH Press Release

Young Pediatricians Advocate for Childhood Vaccine Funding

Boston, MA – On April 15, 2010, over sixty pediatricians in training will be gathered at the Massachusetts State House to advocate for children’s healthcare at the fifth annual Pediatric Residents and Fellows Day at the State House (RFDASH).  On the top of their agenda will be a bill guaranteeing funding for all recommended childhood vaccines and creating a vaccine registry to track vaccine status of all children in the Commonwealth (S. 2195).

For a century, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health provided vaccines to all healthcare providers in the states, so that all children had access to immunizations regardless of health insurance status.  However, Massachusetts is no longer a “universal childhood distribution state”, meaning the state is no longer able to fully provide such funding.  The bill up for debate would create a vaccine purchase trust funded by insurance providers to cover vaccine costs not covered by the state.  This trust would then allow for vaccine purchase through the federal purchase system, which is 40% less costly than private purchasing.  In addition, Massachusetts is currently one of only two states in the U.S. that does not have a vaccine registry, preventing children’s immunization status from being easily tracked.  This bill would also establish such a registry, thereby helping to improve vaccination rates in the Commonwealth.

“It is impossible not to feel the immense impact vaccines have had on children’s health,” says MGH pediatrics resident Jessica Rosenthal.  “Our instructors often tell us about the number of seriously ill children with bacterial meningitis that they took care of as residents, describing that many of those children developed devastating neurologic sequelae.  I have not seen a single child with bacterial meningitis this year, and Haemophilus influenza B vaccine has clearly had a major role in decreasing the frequency of this largely preventable illness.”  Kerrin DePeter, a second year pediatrics resident at MGH adds, “When we have such effective means at our disposal for preventing serious illnesses, it seems irrational and unfair not to do everything possible to facilitate widespread distribution of these resources.  We should not be taking steps backwards in 2010 in the initiative to vaccinate children, and this bill would catch Massachusetts up again.”

The fifth annual Residents Day at the State House is sponsored by the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (MCAAP).  Pediatricians from all over the state will be in attendance.  Featured speakers will be Dr. Greg Hagan, Vice President of MCAAP, and Dr. Vivek Murthy, co-founder of Doctors for America.  Other issues at the focus of RDASH efforts are support for a bill limiting ATV use in children and opposition to a bill that would relax limits on obstetrical care delivered by non-physician providers.  More information can be found at http://mghfcresidents.wordpress.com.

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