The Global Healthy Living Foundation (GHLF) has released a new report titled “Challenges to Vaccine Access for High-Risk Chronic Disease Adults,” which uncovers vaccine access challenges faced by adults with chronic diseases. Despite zero out-of-pocket costs for eligible vaccines, many adults face substantial barriers due to restrictive policies and a lack of clarity in immunization policies.

“It is truly heartbreaking to witness patients who are highly motivated to protect themselves from infections yet are unable to access necessary immunizations due to confusing vaccine protocols and inadequate insurance coverage,” said Robert Popovian, PharmD, MS, Founder, Conquest Advisors and GHLF’s Chief Science Policy Officer, who co-authored the report.

The report is based on a comprehensive survey conducted by GHLF's data analytics and economic and policy research divisions. The survey reached out to adult community members across the U.S. from CreakyJoints, PatientSpot, and the COVID-19 Patient Support Program.

The participants, all with chronic illnesses, were asked about their experiences with vaccine access, confidence, information sources, and any difficulties they encountered. The survey included questions on their specific vaccine challenges and collected demographic information to provide a thorough understanding of the issues.

Key findings from the survey include:

• Pro-immunization: Close to 90 percent of survey participants believe immunization is essential for their health.
• Insurance hurdles: Many participants were turned away because of perceived insurance issues despite existing coverage guarantees.
• Age barriers: Some participants were denied vaccines due to age restrictions, even though their chronic conditions made them eligible.

"We were happy to see that more than 70 percent of participants have not had an issue accessing a vaccine. That being said, almost 30 percent of the respondents did encounter an issue, and almost half of the respondents who had an issue reported never getting the vaccine,” said co-author Kelly Gavigan, Chief Data and Analytics Officer at GHLF. “The vast majority of participants had health insurance — either public or private — so to have such a high percentage of people not able to access a vaccine that they wanted to get is striking."

Call-to-Action to Improve Vaccine Access

GHLF has outlined several steps to make vaccines more accessible and ensure everyone gets the protection they need:

1. Educate health care professionals: Help doctors and pharmacists understand vaccine eligibility for chronic disease patients.
2. Inform patients: Teach patients about their rights regarding vaccine coverage.
3. Ensure insurance compliance: Ensure insurers cover all recommended vaccines as required by law.
4. Boost vaccine confidence: Address vaccine safety and effectiveness concerns to reassure patients.
5. Expand vaccine access points: Make it easier for patients to get vaccines at their preferred locations, such as local community pharmacies.

GHLF calls on policymakers, health care providers, patient groups, and insurers to collaborate and remove these barriers. “Together, we can ensure that everyone, especially those with chronic diseases, can access the vaccines they need to stay healthy,” said Dr. Popovian.

About Global Healthy Living Foundation

The Global Healthy Living Foundation is a U.S. based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, international organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses by advocating for improved access to health care through education, patient-centered clinical research, support, advocacy, and economic and policy research. GHLF is also a staunch advocate for vaccines. The Global Healthy Living Foundation is the parent organization of CreakyJoints®, the international, digital community for millions of people living with arthritis and their supporters worldwide who seek education, support, activism, and patient-centered research in English, Spanish, and French. In addition to arthritis and autoimmune disorders, GHLF supports dermatology, gastroenterology, neurology, cardiology, oncology, infectious disease, rare disease, and pulmonary patients through a host of different programs and activities which draw more than 700,000 patients a month to GHLF websites and create more than 10 million impressions a month on seven social media platforms. In 2023, GHLF had more than 1 million views and listens with its patient-centered audio-visual content, found on YouTube and podcast platforms. GHLF never asks the public for donations, receiving funding instead through governments, non-governmental organizations, foundations, industry, family foundations and co-founder Louis Tharp. Visit ghlf.org for more information.

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