Ensuring Vaccine Access for All People

Key points

  • Access to vaccines for everyone is important.
  • Not everyone has fair and just access to vaccination.
  • CDC helps reduce differences in vaccine access and uptake through activities and partnerships.

Purpose

This page describes:

  • Why vaccine equity is important
  • How to achieve vaccine equity
  • What CDC is doing to improve access to vaccines

What is Vaccine Equity?

Overview:

Vaccine equity is when everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, geographic location, or other determinants of health, has a fair and just opportunity to be vaccinated.

Why It’s Important

Who Benefits from Vaccine Equity:

  • People: Improved health outcomes and protection against diseases.
  • Employers: Reduced cost from fewer employees missing work due to illness or trying to work while sick.
  • Society: Reduced spread of diseases prevented by vaccines. Increased community protection leads to healthier citizens and lower health care costs.

Health Disparities in Vaccination

Challenges:

  • Economic Factors: Income, education level, and employment status or conditions that affect health behaviors and access.
  • Access Barriers: Lack of health care services, limited ability to travel to care, high health care costs, and having no or limited insurance.
  • Social Factors: Mistrust in health care providers and systems, language barriers, and false or misleading information.

Example Population Groups Less Likely to Receive Recommended Vaccinations*:

  • Racial or Ethnic Minoritized Population Groups
  • Rural Communities
  • Families with Lower-income

*Not an exhaustive list

Improving Access to Vaccination

Improving Vaccine Equity:

  • Partnerships: Work with community groups, health care systems, religious groups, trusted messengers, and local leaders.
  • Community Engagement Programs: Increase access with mobile clinics, local health fairs, and vaccination drives.
  • Enhance Immunization Information Systems (IIS): Understand differences in vaccination coverage with more complete information.
  • Policy Changes: Provide free or low-cost vaccines through government programs to reduce financial barriers to being vaccinated.

Reducing Barriers to Vaccination:

  • Education: Campaigns to inform communities about the benefits and safety of vaccines.
  • Financial Assistance: Free vaccines for adults, teenagers, and children who have no or limited health insurance. Also, financial incentives for organizations to vaccinate persons with no or limited health insurance.
  • Cultural Competence: Training health care providers to deliver culturally sensitive care and communication.

Quick Tips

Everyday Strategies:

  • Encourage family and friends to get their vaccines.
  • Share accurate information about vaccines within your community.
  • Volunteer with local groups to support vaccination efforts.

What CDC is Doing

Health Equity Strategy:

  • Focused Activities: Programs to increase vaccine access, confidence, and demand in communities with low vaccination coverage.
  • Research and Information Collection: Measure vaccine distribution and uptake and test activities to address differences among groups of people.
  • Partnerships: Working with local, state, and national groups to implement effective vaccination strategies.

Resources

For Individuals:

For Health Care Providers:

For Community Groups and Other Partners:

Print
Content Source:
National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases