Vaccines and Immunization

Vaccines are among the most powerful public health advancements and are critical for protecting health and advancing equity—having saved more lives than any other medical intervention in history. Vaccines are not only safe but also cost-effective in preventing death and disease. Policy efforts to boost vaccination rates are critical to protecting the health of Americans, preventing deadly outbreaks of new and emerging diseases, and ensuring a stable economy. These policies include building a robust vaccine supply, securing no-cost access to vaccines for patients, expanding the vaccine workforce and infrastructure, improving vaccine community engagement and education, and preventing the spread of vaccine misinformation and disinformation.

Vaccines are pictured at a children’s hospital.
Vaccines are pictured at a children’s hospital in San Diego on December 15, 2020. (Getty/AFP/Ariana Drehsler)
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5 Facts About the Monkeypox Outbreak Article
Health care workers work at intake tents in New York City.

5 Facts About the Monkeypox Outbreak

While monkeypox is less contagious than COVID-19 and largely preventable through vaccination, the outbreak has highlighted that the U.S. public health system remains underprepared for crises.

Marquisha Johns

Covid vaccine and mask mandates expose alt-right Christian hypocrisy In the News

Covid vaccine and mask mandates expose alt-right Christian hypocrisy

Maggie Siddiqi explains why in the face of a deadly pandemic, religion must not be used as an excuse to avoid lifesaving vaccination and mask requirements.

NBC News

Maggie Siddiqi

Maine Provides Leadership on Religion and Vaccines Article
View looking into a brightly lit recreation room in a church. Folding tables covered in red tablecloths and folding chairs are visible, with several people wearing masks and winter clothes are shown sitting or standing waiting for vaccinations or filling out paper forms.

Maine Provides Leadership on Religion and Vaccines

The Rev. Jane Field of the Maine Council of Churches shares her thoughts on Maine’s approach to containing COVID-19, as well as the response from religious communities in the state.

Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons

Covid mask and vaccination mandates aren’t Christian persecution In the News

Covid mask and vaccination mandates aren’t Christian persecution

Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons writes about the responsibility that world religions have to support mask and vaccine mandates.

NBC News

Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons

Biden Admin Should Expand Its Health Care Vaccine Requirement In the News

Biden Admin Should Expand Its Health Care Vaccine Requirement

Author Emily Gee argues that the Biden administration should expand its recent vaccine mandate—requiring vaccination for staff at all nursing homes receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds—to all entities receiving payment from the programs.

Newsweek

Emily Gee

Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination for Health Care Workers as a Condition for Medicare and Medicaid Participation Article
A nurse manager in Washington, D.C., fills a syringe with a dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine during a walk-up clinic at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on May 6, 2021. (Getty/Chip Somodevilla)

Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination for Health Care Workers as a Condition for Medicare and Medicaid Participation

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for providers participating in Medicare and Medicaid, as this action would protect vulnerable patients, set a positive example for other employers, and contribute to the national effort to contain the virus.

Jill Rosenthal, Emily Gee, Maura Calsyn

Vaccine rollout is a success story unlike any in the world In the News

Vaccine rollout is a success story unlike any in the world

Authors Jill Rosenthal and Ben Hatt commend the United States’ vaccine rollout and explain what must be done to ensure its continued success in the months ahead.

the Tyler Morning Telegraph

Jill Rosenthal, Ben Hatt

Covid-19 vaccines are an answered prayer for all faiths In the News

Covid-19 vaccines are an answered prayer for all faiths

Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons urges people of faith to view vaccines as a welcome solution to COVID-19 and emphasizes these communities' important role in ending the pandemic.

CNN

Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons

What the government must do to successfully administer a covid-19 vaccine In the News

What the government must do to successfully administer a covid-19 vaccine

Ezekiel Emanuel and Topher Spiro explain how the United States can overcome the four major hurdles to successfully administering a COVID-19 vaccine.

The Washington Post

Ezekiel Emanuel, Topher Spiro

A Comprehensive COVID-19 Vaccine Plan Report
Healthcare workers talk to a patient in the Covid-19 Unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas, July 2, 2020. - Despite its renowned medical center with the largest agglomeration of hospitals and research laboratories in the world, Houston is on the verge of being overwhelmed by cases of coronavirus exploding in Texas. (Photo by Mark Felix / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE
TO GO WITH AFP STORY by Julia Benarrous:

A Comprehensive COVID-19 Vaccine Plan

A successful COVID-19 vaccination program requires an unprecedented government effort, with tens of thousands of lives, millions of livelihoods, and a normal way of life at stake.

Topher Spiro, Zeke Emanuel

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