August is National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM), a time for us to recognize the critical role vaccination plays in helping prevent serious illness from infectious respiratory diseases. This annual observance highlights the importance of staying up to date with vaccines at all ages, especially as we approach the fall and winter respiratory season.
CVEEP hosted an expert-led discussion on the recent shifts to the federal vaccine landscape, what experts are anticipating ahead of the 2025/2026 respiratory season, and the potential impact of these changes on access and uptake this fall. Providers and public health experts explained the importance of staying up to date on vaccinations for infectious respiratory diseases and broke down the latest vaccine recommendations and guidance — offering insights into which vaccines are needed to stay protected throughout the fall and winter.
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How are vaccines tested for safety and effectiveness? What role do randomized, placebo-controlled trials play—and how are they designed? And how does the FDA decide whether a vaccine is ready for the public?
CVEEP hosted a session exploring how vaccines are evaluated through clinical trials and reviewed by the FDA. Experts in vaccine science, clinical research, and public health broke down the basics of vaccine development, discuss the ethical considerations behind different trial designs, and examine how these decisions can affect access to vaccines and public trust.
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As public health experts anticipate a rise in COVID-19 infections this summer, ensuring access to antiviral treatments for older adults and those with existing health conditions that make them vulnerable to serious illness is more important than ever.
CVEEP held a briefing featuring leading healthcare voices for an in-depth discussion on the current treatment landscape, highlighting the essential role antivirals play in preventing severe illness and hospitalization. The conversation explored key barriers to access, including under-prescription, cost, and insurance coverage, as well as strategies to raise awareness, improve uptake, and ensure that vulnerable populations can receive these life-saving treatments without delay.
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Antiviral treatments are prescription medications that can help the body fight viral infections – easing symptoms, shortening the length of sickness, and lowering the risk of spreading the infection. They’re especially valuable for older adults and other high-risk groups, but data shows a persistent gap between the need for these treatments and actual prescription rates.
The Alliance for Aging Research partnered with CVEEP to host a discussion on antiviral treatments for flu and COVID-19 – who should take them, how they work, the need to start them quickly after an infection, and what people should do if they are sick.
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Last year’s availability of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines marked a critical step in science and public health. Previously, no widespread prevention option existed to protect those at increased risk for RSV, including older adults, from this serious infectious respiratory disease. In the year since RSV vaccines were first introduced, real world evidence has shown that they are effective in preventing serious illness for individuals 60 years and older. However, despite the progress made towards RSV prevention, RSV vaccine uptake continues to remain low in older adults.
As we continue into peak respiratory season and beyond, CVEEP hosted an expert-led conversation on updated risk-based RSV vaccine guidance for older adults, the value of vaccination for adults at highest risk for severe RSV disease, and other important considerations to help promote vaccine uptake across communities.
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The discussion was moderated by Karyne Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, a convener of CVEEP.
As respiratory illness season is now underway, it’s crucial for healthcare professionals and the public to stay informed on the latest guidance regarding COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccines. The first featured a fireside chat featuring Dr. Peter Marks of the FDA, who shared key regulatory updates and highlighted the critical role of vaccines in preventing severe illness during respiratory season and beyond.
Following the fireside chat, a panel of experts analyzed the recent summer COVID-19 surge and outline what individuals need to know about receiving their updated vaccines. The panel also discussed the safety, efficacy, and feasibility of co-administering the COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccines, while examining the current trends in vaccine uptake. By stressing the importance of timely vaccination, the panelists offered practical insights and strategies to ensure widespread protection this fall.
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Risk-based vaccine recommendations are an important mechanism by which public health authorities provide guidance, encourage vaccination, and reach vulnerable populations. That said, implementation of risk-based recommendations can prove challenging.
As we navigate this year’s respiratory illness season, Champions for Vaccine Education, Equity and Progress (CVEEP) held a discussion focused on best practices to support equitable access to respiratory vaccines, which will include an overview of CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations for respiratory vaccines, and considerations specific to risk-based recommendations. Featuring insights from leading public health experts, clinicians, and government officials, the event explored what is working, where there might be barriers to implementation and gaps in communication and, how the public health community can work together to ensure all individuals are able to receive the vaccines they need.
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The discussion was moderated by Amy Pisani, CEO of Vaccinate Your Family.
For pregnant people, maternal vaccines are critical to prenatal care and help protect infants during their first few months of life when newborns are vulnerable to infectious respiratory diseases. As we approach the 2024-2025 respiratory illness season, four vaccines are available to help protect infants, including newly available prevention options. Yet, despite the important role of vaccines during pregnancy, rates of maternal vaccine uptake remain suboptimal.
To further this discussion, Champions for Vaccine Education, Equity and Progress (CVEEP) hosted a conversation on current maternal vaccine guidance, including the maternal RSV vaccine, and potential solutions to address barriers that can impact access to recommended vaccines. The discussion featured provider perspectives across the healthcare continuum and addressed what individuals and organizations can do to help promote maternal vaccination.
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In the more than four years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus has impacted nearly every aspect of our daily lives. It has both magnified and exacerbated health inequities, highlighting the critical importance of access to reliable and digestible information for individuals and communities across the country.
Today, COVID-19 remains a threat to our health and to those around us. Fortunately, access to COVID-19 vaccines has improved outcomes and saved millions of lives. However, as updated vaccines become available in response to new variants, vaccinations for COVID-19 are low, and children and adults are falling behind on even routine vaccinations. With this context in mind, it’s important to understand and examine the current state of COVID-19 vaccination trends and vaccination challenges more broadly.
To further this conversation, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project (CVEEP) partnered with Those Nerdy Girls for a 60-minute webinar discussion on the current state of COVID-19 response efforts. Panelists included:
The discussion was moderated by Beth Battaglino, RN-C, President and CEO of HealthyWomen, and convening member of CVEEP.
Ensuring that all individuals have access to recommended vaccines — the most effective way to protect both children and adults from many serious and potentially deadly diseases — is a public health priority. Several federal programs exist to advance vaccine access and equity. For more than 30 years, the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program, a federally funded program, has provided all ACIP-recommended vaccines free of cost to children who may not otherwise be able to be vaccinated due to inability pay. Furthermore, in response to COVID-19 vaccines’ transition to the commercial market, CDC and HHS established the Bridge Access Program, which provides free COVID-19 vaccines for the 25-30 million adults who do not have health insurance or whose health insurance does not cover all COVID-19 vaccine costs.
However, as the Bridge Access Program is set to expire at the end of 2024, the U.S. may soon face a major gap in vaccine equity as uninsured adults will be without a federal program that ensures their access to free vaccines. Given the success of the VFC program, public health advocates have called for a Vaccines for Adults or Vaccines for All program that would ensure that both children and adults—regardless of their insurance status—have access to all recommended vaccines.
To further this ongoing conversation, the COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Equity Project hosted an online event aimed at examining the need for a federal vaccine program such as Vaccines for Adults or Vaccines for All. Panelists discussed the low rates of recommended adult immunizations and the need for a federal program that ensures adults’ access to vaccines, the success of the VFC program as a model, and the potential impacts of the creation of such a program.
Panelists included: