Vaccines at this time, having to just review the recent immunization schedule posts by the American had in pediatrics are far different than they were 20 years ago when I was beginning in this area of pediatrics.
We have been very successful in development of vaccines. We have been very successful in new vaccines and in modifying and improving old ones. As a result, the number of vaccines we now give children is far, far greater than we ever did before and they are far more expensive. It is unrealistic and not appropriate to expect the pediatrician to front end the cost of those vaccines with the hope of getting of reimbursed it some percentage by an insurance company.
If we want to fully immunize our population, we must figure out a more appropriate way for those vaccines to be paid for so that our children and really our adults can be saved and protected from those multiple viruses and bacteria that we now immunized against.
Those countries or states that provide vaccines free of charge, no question their immunization is higher and as a result their population is healthier and more productive. If you can now measure value to society that’s the way to look at value to society. The current process by which individual physicians must lay out the money upfront to buy the vaccines is absurd and one that will only leave to noncompliance or ways of getting around the system which will only hurt children and lower the immunization, none of which we want to see happen.
So in other words, the pressure of, I should say the cost that’s put on the pediatrician could be greatly reduced at the people who are in the Department of Health or CDC got together and came up with a system that we deliver the vaccines but don’t pay for the cost of the vaccines and make sure we follow the guidelines correctly, get hard at it. We dot it correctly. Maybe go small in administration because the health department is recording that. It would be here for everybody and for all, is that correct?
Well, I strongly believe and this is really my opinion that first health care should be universal. It should be no population who is exposed to a non-insured situation and I hope that under whatever new administration gets selected they were able to have a universal health system for all of our populous children and adults.
Second, there will be specific types of medication perhaps and certainly vaccines would fall under them that the cost of them would be underwritten by the Central Government. In my mind, that is a wise use of resources, tax dollars, a citizenry pays either the Medicare or through its own tax dollars and it makes perfect sense because that way we can guarantee hiring immunization rate and it helps your society.
We know that for instance, slippage in vaccinations against pertussis has led to greater pertussis in teenage and adult population. It has decreased quality of life for those adults and even caused some death and certainly illness much greater than it needed to be. We have seen the reemergence of some measles. We’ve seen the reemergence of some of the bacterial diseases that are preventable.
All of that would go away if we have a uniform mechanism by which payment for those vaccines was guaranteed and therefore administration by the providers either in the adult, in terms adults or pediatricians would also be a guarantee with the administrative fee for the cost it takes to give that vaccine. That will take some universal healthcare overall and some clear philosophical agreement on the part of our politicians but it is the way to go.
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