Protecting the Public's Health: Critical Functions of the Section 317 Immunization Program-A Report of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee.

摘要

Vaccines are one of our most successful tools for protecting the public's health. It seems simple: a pharmaceutical company develops a new vaccine, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) licenses it, health-care providers give it to their patients, and we see disease disappear. But vaccination in the United States is much more complex and only made possible through a robust public-private partnership that begins with the development of the vaccine and continues long after it is used routinely. Along every step of the way, public health-at the national, state, and local levels-plays a fundamental role. The success of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in preventing suffering, disability, and death is one example that illustrates the essential role of our nation's public health systems and workforce in protecting us from vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs).