Adult Immunization Rates Focus of Partnership with Three Health Systems Across the U.S.

NEW YORK, NY – January, 2023 – The American Thoracic Society is starting the new year poised to improve vaccination rates with three health system partners:  University of Arizona/ Banner Health; West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc.; and San Francisco Health Network/ University of California.  

In the fall of 2021, the CDC announced it had awarded a grant to the Center of Medical Specialty Societies to implement a vaccine initiative – Specialty Societies Advancing Adult Immunization – over a five-year period. The ATS, among others, was tapped by CMSS to address gaps in COVID-19, influenza and pneumococcal vaccine implementation. Specifically, ATS will focus on adults with respiratory disease, including COPD and asthma.

With funding from the ATS, each health system will focus on collecting baseline immunization data in the first year. At the end of the five-year term, they will have tested and identified evidence-based interventions for implementation among specific populations.

“This initiative comes at a critical time given the proliferation of misinformation related to vaccines,” said Robert Stansbury, MD, West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc. “We look forward to identifying how we can better educate our patients so they can make an informed decision about their care. We are grateful to the American Thoracic Society for this opportunity to contribute to improving vaccine adoption by better understanding existing barriers and the challenges to providers.”

“As health care providers who care for patients with lung disease at this particular period in time,” said George Su, MD, University of California. “We are uniquely positioned to see where the health care gaps are, and they are a systems problem. It, therefore, falls to the health systems to help lead the change. Concrete insights from focus groups in pulmonary clinics system-wide is a necessary first step. Thank you ATS for helping us in this regard.”

“Caring for patients who are marginalized, but who also have the burden of a serious lung disease, is extremely humbling,” said Sai Parthasarathy, MD, University of Arizona. “We see patients at their most vulnerable. With the funding support from the American Thoracic Society, we can do the work necessary to truly finding what works for our patient population.”

“We look forward to beginning this work that will help our members and the broader community of respiratory health professionals care for patients with serious lung disease,” said ATS President Gregory Downey, MD, ATSF. “The data collected will contribute to the development of immunization policy statements, as well as patient education materials.”

He added, “On behalf of the ATS leadership, I want to extend my thanks to the CDC as well as CMSS for their continued support and for including ATS in this critically important initiative.” As a demonstration of its ongoing commitment to immunization access, the ATS’s Executive Committee has endorsed the National Vaccine Advisory Committee Standards for Adult Immunization.

The ATS is in the process of securing additional partnerships with health systems across the U.S.  For more information, contact Amy F. Stern, the ATS senior director of Vaccine Initiatives at astern@thoracic.org.

For information on vaccine resources, visit the ATS Vaccine Resource Center.