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Given our reliance on 50 year old vaccine production technology and its inherent delays and supply problems, along with public misinformation and high levels of distrust of vaccines in this country, it is fair to say we’ve been very lucky that the H1N1 pandemic of 2009 was no worse than it has been to date.
Had this been the highly virulent H5N1 virus, or a 1918-style influenza we’d be looking at a bigger crisis, and there would be little public patience for vaccine delays or excuses.
The IOM (Institute of Medicine) has just released a 300 page report entitled Priorities For The National Vaccine Plan which attempts to identify portions of our National Vaccine Plan that need improvement.
Areas where improvements are recommended include:
VACCINE DEVELOPMENT
VACCINE SAFETY
COMMUNICATION
VACCINE USE AND SUPPLY
GLOBAL VACCINE ISSUES
Ultimately it will be up to the HHS and the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) to take these recommendations and turn them into action.
In a statement on the release of this report, Director of the NVPO, Dr. Bruce Gellin said:
'I commend the Institute of Medicine for their insightful recommendations on the National Vaccine Plan released today. The expert panel assembled by the IOM spent nearly two years engaging a broad range of stakeholders to gain insight on priorities for the nation’s vaccine strategy for the next decade, and the National Vaccine Program Office and the Department of Health and Human Services extend their appreciation and gratitude.
This report represents an important midcourse review for the plan, and the Department will thoughtfully consider the report’s recommendations during the next phase of development. As the Plan moves toward finalization in summer 2010, the IOM’s priorities will join the input of many stakeholders as we continue to chart the future of the Nation’s vaccine and immunization enterprise. The Plan and its priorities aim to be national, not just federal, in scope and will set forth a vision for the next decade. We thank the IOM and the expert committee for their efforts to reflect a broad, national perspective in these recommendations.'
The draft version can be read online, or a pre-publication PDF or hard copy can be ordered through the National Academies Press. For those disinclined to purchase or read (online) the entire report, there are summaries available.
Report Brief
- Released: 12/11/2009
- Download: PDF
As a fundamental component of medical care and of public health, vaccinations prevent the spread of infectious and potentially deadly diseases. However, there are many complexities involved in the process of making and providing vaccines, from research and development of new vaccines to the financing of immunization services. The National Vaccine Plan was required by the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act to facilitate coordination of the vaccine enterprise across the United States. The National Vaccine Plan is centered on five goals:
- Goal 1: Develop new and improved vaccines
- Goal 2: Enhance the safety of vaccines and vaccination practices
- Goal 3: Support informed vaccine decision-making by the public, providers, and policy makers
- Goal 4: Ensure a stable supply of recommended vaccines, and achieve better use of existing vaccines to prevent disease, disability, and death in the United States
- Goal 5: Increase global prevention of death and disease through safe and effective vaccination.
In 2008, the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO),which is located in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a committee to hold workshops with national expert stakeholders in medicine, public health, and vaccinology.
The committee was charged with reviewing a draft update of the National Vaccine Plan and identifying priority actions under each of the five goals that NVPO and its partners can take when finalizing and implementing the Plan. The committee found that although the National Vaccine Program has had some great successes and can provide examples of excellent coordination, neither the NVPO nor the Plan have functioned as intended in the 1986 legislation.
Overall, the committee concludes that because vaccines are considered a major public health intervention that involves multiple government agencies and stakeholders (including health care providers, patients, researchers, health departments, and vaccine manufacturers), an effective coordinating entity is required. Therefore, the committee recommends the Secretary of HHS demonstrate support for the National Vaccine Plan by declaring its primacy as the strategic planning tool applicable to all relevant federal agencies and by allocating the resources necessary to assure robust planning and implementation.
Read Full Report
Date: Dec. 11, 2009Contacts: Christine Stencel, Senior Media Relations Officer
Alison Burnette, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail news@nas.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
National Vaccine Plan Should Prioritize Efforts to Tackle Unmet Health Needs, More Resources for Safety Research and Communication
WASHINGTON -- While vaccines help prevent many diseases in the United States, we lack immunization protection against several serious illnesses, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine that identifies priority areas for updating the National Vaccine Plan. The revised plan should include a strategy to accelerate development of high-priority vaccines, said the committee that wrote the report. In addition, it should emphasize the importance of expanding funding for safety research and monitoring, and include the development of a national communications strategy to clarify the importance of vaccines and bolster public confidence in the immunization system.
The National Vaccine Plan aims to provide centralized coordination of the various components involved in protecting Americans from vaccine-preventable illnesses and vaccine-related adverse reactions. The immunization system engages many partners -- including multiple government agencies and departments, vaccine researchers, manufacturers, public health officials, health care providers, and the public -- in identifying vaccine needs, researching and developing new products, assessing safety, and getting people immunized. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a draft update to the plan in 2008 and requested that IOM conduct an independent assessment of issues that merit priority attention.
The updated plan should call for a greater proportion of vaccine research and development to be directed at specific goals, such as producing vaccines against diseases for which there are none or developing a single vaccine that would work against all influenza viruses, the committee said. The majority of vaccine research and development stems from the focus and interests of individual researchers rather than a set of priority targets identified through a centralized planning process.
