Preparing for Respiratory Illness Season: A Guide for Caregivers

Download PDF

Shared Clinical Decision-Making: Challenges and Implications for Vaccine Awareness, Administration, and Uptake

Download PDF

Milestones: Changes to the COVID-19 Virus & Updated Vaccines

Download PDF

Glossary: The Science of Viruses

Download PDF

Poster: COVID-19 and Flu Viruses Change to Fool Your Immune System

Download PDF

Did You Know? As Viruses Change, Vaccines Are Updated to Protect You

Download PDF

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:

• Ashley Z. Ritter, APRN, PhD, Founding Member of Those Nerdy Girls, Director of Clinical Research at NewCourtland Philadelphia
• Amanda Simanek, PhD, MPH, Founding Member of Those Nerdy Girls, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Rosalind Franklin University
• Andrea Harmony, NP-C, PMHS, Contributing Writer at Those Nerdy Girls, Pediatric-Focused Family Nurse Practitioner at PM Pediatric Care Philadelphia

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: 

• Evelyn Twentyman, MD, MPH, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• L.J Tan, MS, PhD, Chief Policy and Partnerships Officer, Immunize.org
• Patsy Stinchfield, RN, MS, CPNP, President, National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID)
• Moderator: Sue Peschin, MHS, President and CEO, Alliance for Aging Research

What to Know About mRNA and Vaccines

Download PDF