THE ’90s CALLED...
...they have our adult vaccination programs
Want to watch a movie tonight? Run out to your local video rental store. Need to call your home while you’re out? Use the nearest pay phone. What do these things have in common? They are out of date. While the world has certainly moved on from video stores and pay phones, we need adult vaccination programs more than ever. And, for the same reason we now stream our movies and use smartphones, vaccination technology is also moving forward at a very fast pace. We need to ensure that provincial government adult vaccination programs don’t get stuck in the era of Blockbuster. Provincial governments must invest to continuously update their adult vaccination programs with the latest approved and recommended vaccines. This will ensure that Canadian adults – and particularly Canadian seniors and those most at risk from serious illnesses – have better access to new adult vaccines that protect against debilitating and even potential lethal conditions such as shingles (herpes zoster), respiratory syncytial virus and pneumococcal disease (pneumonia). That last one is seemingly misunderstood by many seniors and governments. A recent survey conducted by CARP revealed that only 52% of respondents were aware of the severity of pneumococcal disease – specifically, that pneumonia coupled with the flu ranks among the top 10 leading causes of death for Canadian adults. The CARP survey also showed that a vast majority of respondents (more than 90%) want the federal and provincial/territorial governments to fund and encourage greater use of pneumococcal vaccines, including new ones. Compared to the cost of vaccinations, the cost of people getting sick from a preventable illness is huge, without even considering the personal cost to patients and their families, including potential loss of life. A recent study of Ontario health records from 201214 found there had been almost 700,000 cases of community acquired pneumonia in the province over a three-year period, most of them in those aged 65 and older. Each case requiring hospitalization cost the health system more than $12,500. Those
We need to ensure that provincial government adult vaccination programs don’t get stuck in the era of Blockbuster.
needing intensive care cost far more and even those who didn’t need hospitalization cost the system an average of almost $1,600. Costs have only gone up substantially in the 10 years since this data was generated. There are also more serious pneumococcal infections, such as of the blood or brain. Health Canada says about 3,000 such cases are reported each year in Canada, most in those under age 5 or over 65. Health Canada notes the bacteria causing this illness can become resistant to the drugs used to treat it, which makes preventing such illness through effective rates of adult vaccination even more important. However, vaccination rates are not where they should be to ensure Canadians and their health systems get maximum benefit. For example, Canadian public health authorities are striving for a goal of 80% vaccine coverage for pneumococcal disease by Canadians aged 65 and older but the current rate is just 55%. That means our health system – and not to mention the individuals involved – is barely getting half the benefit it could from this simple preventive measure. As well, the free public vaccination programs of most provinces only provide pneumococcal vaccines that were first approved decades ago, not ones approved in more recent years. The National Immunization Strategy is over twenty years old and though it’s been refined since then, it hasn’t received a major funding infusion for two decades. These programs and the national strategy should keep up with the latest technology and provide new approved vaccines as they become available to offer more comprehensive protection. “As we did during the COVID-19 pandemic, we urgently need a concerted effort by all our governments to ensure that there are free and easily accessible adult vaccination programs that include the latest vaccines to provide the best possible protection and health for seniors,” said Bill VanGorder, Chief Advocacy and Education Officer of CARP. He added that we can also ensure greater vaccine coverage through better communication to inform people about the value and safety of vaccines, the seriousness of the illnesses they prevent and how to get them at no cost. “At a time when our health system is at a breaking point, we need to do everything we can to keep people well, especially seniors,” he said. “Investing in ensuring greater use of vaccines will not only prevent individuals from suffering from illness but will give our health system a much-needed leg-up.”