Policy Makers and
Advocates

Our Laws Matter.

Your Voice Makes a Difference.

The Arizona Partnership for Immunization is committed to promoting immunizations, preventing disease, and protecting Arizona by supporting pro-vaccine and pro-public health legislation.

Current Priorities:

- Engage with policymakers to advocate for legislation that supports immunization and public health efforts.
- Advocate for equitable access to immunizations for all individuals irrespective of socio-economic status or geographic location.
- Support initiatives and legislation that enhance vaccine availability, affordability, and distribution to ensure widespread coverage.
- Support and promote immunization policies grounded in scientific evidence and based on guidelines developed by reputable health organization and experts.
- Commit to adapting our policies and strategies in response to new scientific developments, emerging diseases, and changing societal needs.

System Level Policy Approach Examples of What We Do:

Vaccine Congress
Series

TAPI convenes stakeholders to assess policy and system changes that impact the state of the AZ immunization delivery system, to help partners define, plan, and prioritize approaches.

Public Health Vaccine Billing Policy (Childhood and Adult)

Centralized business office and claims processing for 11 county health departments’ immunization and family planning clinics.

Ongoing health plan payment advocacy on behalf of all vaccine providers in order to keep vaccines in the medical home
Process improvement with AHCCCS
National advocacy for increased coverage for private and public vaccine clinics

Childhood Vaccine Delivery System Assessment

Survey and assessment of childhood vaccine providers in AZ, with mapping of provider type, vaccines offered, and identification of vaccine deserts. Conducted by independent community assessment firm, the Omni Institute.

Monitor AZ State Legislature

TAPI keeps a close eye on what’s happening at the capitol to ensure we have good laws that protect people and support good public health policy. We develop assessments and talking points for vaccine related bill so that our partners and policy makers have the information they need to make informed decisions.

Why it’s Important to Have Good Vaccine Policy

Vaccines are our best defense

Vaccines prevent potentially fatal diseases. Vaccines have a high degree of safety, and their safety is constantly evaluated and reevaluated in a system operating independently from the pharmaceutical companies that make vaccines.

Vaccines have been around since the 1940s – they are proven to save lives.

We’re not just doctors and public health officials. We are parents and patients too, and we vaccinated our children, and ourselves. We can – and do – keep our families safe by vaccinating from life-threatening diseases.

Vaccines save health care costs.

Before a vaccine is added to the schedule, ACIP evaluates the cost savings compared to the cost of treating the diseases.

For every $1 spent on vaccines we save $16 in direct health care costs and $28 in indirect costs.

States, cities, and towns with lower vaccination rates have higher rates of life-threatening diseases. Even if children are vaccinated, this still puts them at some level of risk.

A 2018 study showed Arizonan’s spent $322 million on the treatment of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Diseases are in our community.

When parents don’t vaccinate their children, community rates drop. This is why we’re seeing outbreaks of measles, whooping cough, and other preventable diseases.

This year in AZ we have experienced cases of measles, mumps, hepatitis A, whooping cough, and chickenpox.

When we talk to parents whose children become victim to these diseases, they are heartbroken at the realization they could have prevented their child’s suffering with a vaccine or in some instances saved their life.

We live in a global society. These diseases still proliferate in other countries and are just a plane ride away. AZ needs to keep our immunization rates high enough so we protect all of our vulnerable residents.