IAC Express 2007
Issue number 642: January 24, 2007
 
Contents of this Issue
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  1. Help advocate for increased federal immunization funding—join the 317 Coalition
 
Abbreviations
AAFP, American Academy of Family Physicians; AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics; ACIP, Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices; AMA, American Medical Association; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; FDA, Food and Drug Administration; IAC, Immunization Action Coalition; MMWR, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report; NCIRD, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; NIVS, National Influenza Vaccine Summit; VIS, Vaccine Information Statement; VPD, vaccine-preventable disease; WHO, World Health Organization.
  
Issue 642: January 24, 2007
1.  Help advocate for increased federal immunization funding—join the 317 Coalition

No government funds have been used to produce this article.

IAC is happy to provide you with the following appeal for new members from the 317 Coalition. We encourage your agency, organization, or medical practice to visit the coalition's website at http://www.317coalition.org If you want to join the coalition or need additional information, contact Amy Souders, Cornerstone Government Affairs, at (202) 448-9500 or email at amy@cgagroup.com



January 18, 2007

Dear Colleague:

As the new 110th Congress convenes in Washington, D.C., we are writing to invite your organization to join the 317 Coalition, which advocates for increased funding for childhood, adolescent, and adult immunization programs. The mission of the 317 Coalition is to focus the advocacy support of allied organizations with the common goal of increasing the federal discretionary funding for the National Immunization Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, commonly known as Section 317 of the Public Health Service Act. We are seeking to expand our robust partnership with additional national, state, and local organizations from all 50 states and territories, including professional associations, healthcare provider organizations, health departments, and any organization or medical practice interested in increasing childhood, adolescent, and adult immunization coverage. There is no cost to join the coalition.

This coalition is solely focused on advocating for increased federal immunization grants to states and cities. It focuses on helping implement the policies of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and other relevant policy making bodies. It will in no way make or attempt to influence immunization policy.

As a member of the Coalition you will
  • Be sent information regarding the federal budget for the CDC immunization program and updates on the Congressional deliberations and recommendations for appropriations,
  • Be asked to simply sign on to letters of support to Congress for increased funding along with other organizations across the country,
  • Be sent action alerts asking you to contact your congressional representatives during the appropriate time in the congressional cycle if you so wish and are able, and
  • Be invited to participate in periodic conference calls to share important information about critical needs of federal, state, and local immunization programs.

As you may know, the federally funded 317 program provides vaccination services for children and teens who do not qualify for the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program, as well as adults. The 317 funds are used to purchase and administer vaccines, usually at public health departments, and for immunization delivery services, surveillance, communication, and education.

More than 80 organizations have joined since the coalition's inception in April 2006, and our efforts have already started to pay off. The House Appropriations Committee included in the FY 2007 Labor HHS Appropriations bill a $97 million increase over the prior FY 2006 level for the Section 317 program, for a total of $615 million. The Appropriation Committee's report also included a directive to CDC proposed by the 317 Coalition that requires a report to Congress on how much funding is needed to cover the cost of new vaccines, state infrastructure, and other data and information relating to the CDC immunization program.

In 2006, at the coalition's urging, Representatives Steny Hoyer (MD) and John Shimkus (IL) led [i.e., were the originating authors of] a bipartisan letter signed by 72 members of the House of Representatives to the Appropriations Committee seeking an increase in Section 317 funding. A similar effort in the Senate, led by Senators Smith (OR), Reed (RI), Durbin (IL), and former Senator DeWine (OH), attracted the support of 23 senators.

The following organizations have signed on as members of the coalition:

[National Organizations]

  • American Academy of Family Physicians
  • American Academy of Pediatrics
  • American Academy of Physician Assistants
  • American Association of Occupational Health Nurses
  • American Immunization Registry Association
  • American Liver Foundation
  • American Pharmacists Association
  • American Public Health Association
  • American Social Health Association
  • American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
  • Campaign for Public Health
  • Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education Center
  • Emory Vaccine Center
  • Every Child By Two
  • GlaxoSmithKline
  • Hepatitis B Foundation
  • Hepatitis Foundation International
  • Immunization Action Coalition
  • MedImmune
  • Meningitis Angels
  • Merck
  • Migrant Clinicians Network, Inc.
  • National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors
  • National Association of County and City Health Officials
  • National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
  • National Coalition of STD Directors
  • National Foundation for Infectious Diseases
  • National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition
  • National Hepatitis B Task Force: Focus on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders
  • National Meningitis Association
  • National Partnership for Immunization
  • National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable
  • PKIDS/Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases
  • Society for Adolescent Medicine
  • Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
  • Trust for America's Health
  • Visiting Nurse Association of America
  • Wyeth

[State and Local Organizations]

  • Adult Immunization Coalition of Tompkins County (Ithaca, NY)
  • Alabama Adult Immunization Coalition
  • Arizona Partnership for Immunization
  • Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute
  • Asian Liver Center at Stanford University
  • Association for Utah Community Health
  • Chicago Area Immunization Campaign
  • Community Health Information Collaborative (Duluth, MN)
  • Consortium for Healthy and Immunized Communities, Inc. (Northern Ohio)
  • Essex Metro Immunization Coalition (NJ)
  • Georgia AIDS Coalition
  • Georgia Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Greater Salt Lake Immunization Coalition (UT)
  • Hep-C ALERT (Northern Miami, FL)
  • Hep C Connection (Denver, CO)
  • HepTREC, The Delaware Valley Hepatitis Treatment, Research and Education Center
  • Immunization Action Coalition of Washington
  • Immunization Coalition of Washington, DC
  • Immunization Partnership of Alameda County, California
  • Immunization Task Force (Metro Omaha, NE)
  • Indiana Immunization Coalition
  • Iowa Immunization Coalition (West DesMoines, IA)
  • Kenosha Immunization Coalition (WI)
  • Laredo Health Coalition
  • Larimer County Immunization Coalition
  • LiverHope
  • Mid America Immunization Coalition of Kansas City, MO
  • Northeast Wisconsin Immunization Coalition
  • Northern Manhattan Start Right Coalition
  • Northern Nevada Immunization Coalition
  • Oklahoma County Immunization Coalition
  • Oregon Partnership to Immunize Children
  • Pennsylvania Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Project L.O.V.E. (Columbus, OH)
  • Public Health—Seattle & King County (WA)
  • San Francisco Immunization Coalition
  • Sioux Falls Immunization Coalition (SD)
  • Southwest Utah Immunization Coalition
  • Spears Foundation
  • Tennessee Department of Health, State Immunization Program
  • Texas Children's Hospital Vaccine Center (Houston, TX)
  • Tri-County Immunization Coalition (Charleston, SC)
  • Tulsa Area Immunization Coalition
  • Vietnamese Community Health Promotion Project—UCSF
  • Washington Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics
  • West Virginia Immunization Network (Dunbar, WV)

We encourage you to visit the coalition's website at www.317Coalition.org. If your agency, organization, or medical practice would like to join the coalition or request additional information, please contact Amy Souders, Cornerstone Government Affairs, at (202) 448-9500 or email at amy@cgagroup.com

Thank you for your interest.

Sincerely,

Paul Offit, MD
Director, Vaccine Education Center
Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Walt Orenstein, MD
Associate Director
Emory Vaccine Center
Emory University

Amy Pisani, MS
Executive Director
Every Child By Two

Deborah L. Wexler, MD
Executive Director
Immunization Action Coalition


To access the letter directly, go to:
http://www.317coalition.org/action

To visit the 317 Coalition website, go to:
http://www.317coalition.org

For legislative updates and other resources, go to:
http://www.317coalition.org/learnmore

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Editorial Information

  • Editor-in-Chief
    Kelly L. Moore, MD, MPH
  • Managing Editor
    John D. Grabenstein, RPh, PhD
  • Associate Editor
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    Taryn Chapman, MS
    Courtnay Londo, MA
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    Laurel H. Wood, MPA
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    Kayla Ohlde

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