[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 43 (Friday, March 4, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12117-12118]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4879]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Call for Comments on the Draft Report of the Adult Immunization
Working Group to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee on Adult
Immunization: Complex Challenges and Recommendations for Improvement
AGENCY: National Vaccine Program Office, Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Health, Office of the Secretary, Department of Health and
Human Services.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) was established
in 1987 to comply with Title XXI of the Public Health Service Act (Pub.
L. 99-660) (Section 2105) (42 U.S. Code 300aa-5 (PDF--78 KB)). Its
purpose is to advise and make recommendations to the Director of the
National Vaccine Program on matters related to program
responsibilities. The Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) has been
designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as the
Director of the National Vaccine Program. The ASH has charged the NVAC
``to develop recommendations for establishing a comprehensive,
sustainable, national adult immunization program that will lead to
vaccine-preventable disease reduction by improving adult immunization
coverage levels.'' The Adult Immunization Working Group (AIWG) of NVAC
has developed a draft report and recommendations for the consideration
of the NVAC. Individuals and organizations are encouraged to submit
their comments on the draft report and recommendations. It is
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anticipated that the draft report and recommendations, as revised in
accordance with public comment and stakeholder input, will be presented
to the NVAC for deliberation and decision for adoption in mid- or late
2011.
DATES: To receive consideration, comments must be received no later
than 5 p.m. EST on April 15, 2011.
ADDRESSES:
(1) The draft report and recommendations are available on the Web
at http://www.hhs.gov/nvpo/nvac/subgroups/adultimmunization.
(2) By electronic mail, comments can be e-mailed to Lauren Wu,
National Vaccine Program Office, at [email protected].
(3) By mail, comments can be submitted to: NVAC AIWG Report, c/o
Lauren Wu, National Vaccine Program Office, 200 Independence Avenue,
Room 715-H, Washington, DC 20201.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Grabowsky, National Vaccine
Program Office, 200 Independence Avenue, Room 715-H, Washington, DC
20201, Attn: NVAC Adult Immunization Working Group, Telephone (202)
260-2325; Fax: (202) 690-4631; E-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Over the past two decades, numerous reports
and sets of recommendations to address the suboptimal immunization
status of adults have been developed. These have been issued by a
number of groups, including the NVAC in 1990, 1994, 1997 and 2004; the
Institute of Medicine; a 2010 collaboration in between Trust for
America's Health, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; the 2007 National Immunization
Congress; as well as by other groups of independent experts in the
field working with Federal agencies. Despite these prior efforts,
previous reports and recommendations have not resulted in sufficient
improvements in the current status of adult immunization in the U.S.
Additionally, recent research has helped to better identify additional
barriers to adult immunization, and lessons learned from recent public
health experiences--such as the 2009-10 H1N1 pandemic--make clear the
need for public health infrastructure for adult vaccines. Prior
recommendations have provided the AIWG with examples of successes and
opportunities for improvement.
In 2009, the NVAC issued a report directed to Federal agencies'
adult immunization programs (http://www.hhs.gov/nvpo/nvac/subgroups/nvacadultimmunizationsworkinggroupjune2009). The current draft report
represents the work of the NVAC on phase two of this process, a broad
examination of the national adult immunization program in accordance
with the charge ``to develop recommendations for establishing a
comprehensive, sustainable, national adult immunization program that
will lead to vaccine-preventable disease reduction by improving adult
immunization coverage levels.'' The NVAC includes representatives from
public health practitioners, medical providers, health plan payers,
consumers, vaccine manufacturers, and HHS agencies. Through review of
previous recommendations to improve adult immunization, a comprehensive
literature review of barriers to adult immunization, and identification
of gaps in the current adult vaccination and immunization system, the
AIWG developed draft recommendations to achieve the charge as noted
above.
The draft report describes the vaccine-preventable disease burden
among adults, the current state of the adult immunization
infrastructure, barriers to adult immunization, and the conclusions of
the AIWG from these findings. From these conclusions, the AIWG makes 3
recommendations: (1) That there be national leadership for an adult
immunization program, (2) That there be resources allocated for a
national adult immunization program and action plan implementation, and
(3) That a national strategic plan be developed for adult immunization.
The report also provides recommended components of a national adult
immunization program to be included in an action plan that fall under 5
categories: General infrastructure, access, provider- or system-based
interventions, increasing community demand, and research needs.
The final revision of this report will be shared with the NVAC for
their deliberation and decision for adoption. Should the NVAC decide to
adopt these recommendations, the report will then become a report of
the NVAC to the Assistant Secretary for Health.
Dated: March 1, 2011.
Bruce Gellin,
Director, National Vaccine Program Office.
[FR Doc. 2011-4879 Filed 3-3-11; 8:45 am]
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