Email your local decision-makers | Fund RSV Vaccine now

Email your local decision-makers

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I am writing to express my concern regarding urgency of access to the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for older adults in our community. With another virus season upon us, there is now an RSV vaccine approved by Health Canada, but we need your help to be able to receive it.

RSV is a highly contagious seasonal respiratory virus that affects the lungs and respiratory passages. While RSV can start as a mild illness, it can quickly escalate to a serious condition, leading to hospitalization and even death among older adults and other vulnerable individuals. In fact, pre-pandemic, RSV was the third leading cause of hospitalizations for influenza-like illness among Canadian adults.

The RSV vaccine is currently under review by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) with a recommendation regarding which populations a vaccine program should cover expected sometime in 2024. Individuals such as myself, vulnerable to severe complications of RSV, want assurances that the government, currently in planning for the 2024/25 fiscal budget, will make a proactive commitment to initiate a program before we’re left unprotected through yet another virus season. As soon as a NACI recommendation is available, the RSV vaccine should be funded and accessible without delay.

Despite an RSV vaccine being available in Canada now, the reality is that many seniors, including myself, don’t have private drug insurance and simply cannot afford the vaccine. According to a recent Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) survey, seniors are far less likely to get important vaccines when they are not funded. While approximately 88% of the over 2000 survey respondents had received or said they would receive flu and COVID vaccines this year, only 30% indicated they would do so if they had to pay for the vaccines themselves. That’s an attrition rate of 63% because of affordability.

The solution is simple. As my Member of Parliament, I’m asking you to urge the Minister of Health to make a budgetary commitment NOW to put in place a government-funded RSV vaccination program for older adults, like those already in place for influenza and COVID-19. By taking proactive measures and implementing a publicly funded program for RSV, you can help mitigate the burden of RSV on the healthcare system, prevent unnecessary hospitalizations, and ultimately save lives.

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