Every year, more than 40,000 U.S. adults are hospitalized or die due to vaccine- preventable diseases.
In addition, vaccine-preventable diseases cost the U.S. billions each year. As the U.S. population ages at an unprecedented rate, with 78 million Baby Boomers becoming seniors, improving rates of adult vaccination is a national imperative. Higher vaccination rates among adults reduce clinic visits, the rate of hospitalizations, and the incidence of long-term disability. Nevertheless, adult vaccination rates remain far below national targets. A solution to the challenges facing adult vaccination is appropriate vaccine quality measures.
In a new white paper, The Value and Imperative of Quality Measures for Adult Vaccines, renowned vaccine experts — including representatives from the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition — explain how vaccine quality measures can prevent illness and death, reduce caregiving demands, save unnecessary healthcare spending, and set the foundation for healthy aging. The paper urges that adult vaccination quality measures should be included in two national measure developments underway: as part of the implementation of MACRA and the Core Quality Measures Collaborative.