National Consumers League to testify at CDC ACIP in support of pneumococcal and other vaccines

June 25, 2019

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL) will present testimony at the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) vaccine committee on June 26 in support of keeping an important vaccine to prevent pneumococcus disease on the schedule of recommended vaccines.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is revisiting their 2014 recommendation for the pneumococcal vaccine. NCL’s Executive Director Sally Greenberg will present testimony before the committee of vaccine experts in the defense of maintaining the current recommendation of keeping the vaccine, Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine 13 (PCV13), on the schedule for adults. NCL also recently joined a letter to ACIP with other health advocates urging the committee not changing the existing recommendation for coverage of the pneumococcal vaccine.

“…[n]early one million adult cases of pneumococcal disease are reported in the U.S. each year, resulting in 400,000 hospitalizations. Five to seven percent of those hospitalized will die, and a large percentage of them will be seniors…..Saving these costs is entirely feasible given that we have a safe and effective vaccine to prevent the pneumococcal illness.”

NCL has a long history of supporting childhood and adult vaccines as enormously safe and effective in reducing illness and death. NCL has sounded alarms about the outbreak of measles across the country, with 1,044 cases this year in the U.S.– the largest since 1992. NCL points out that communities of color and other lower-income Americans are particularly benefitted by keeping important lifesaving vaccines on the schedule.

The group letter noted, “We also recognize that many Americans, especially seniors, will not be able to afford vaccination if it is not provided by Medicare. Cutting back or eliminating Medicare coverage will affect older adults, especially in underserved populations that already see lower rates of vaccination.”

NCL strongly encourages the committee to maintain coverage for the pneumococcal vaccines to prevent disease and save lives.

Testimony will take place on June 26-27, 2019 at the CDC Tom Harkin Global Communication Center at the CDC’s main campus at 1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30329.

To view NCL’s official statement to the ACIP panel, click the following link: bit.ly/2XAIok2.

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About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.