Vaccines are medicines
All safety measures and obligations imposed on medicines also apply to vaccines. They differ from other medicines in the sense that their purpose is to prevent diseases and that they are administered to healthy people.
Vaccines play a significant role for individuals and society. They are an efficient way to prevent serious diseases. Prevention is always better and less expensive than taking care of the consequences.
The national vaccination programme has been successful in attaining its goals. Finnish vaccine coverage is excellent by global standards, and thanks to the vaccinations, Finns are protected against major infective diseases. The high coverage rate is a result of a well-functioning child welfare clinic system and a long tradition of public vaccinations.
Reimbursability of vaccines should be considered
The vaccines included in the national vaccination programme are free for the patients but the other vaccines are paid for by the patients or their employers. Vaccines are not covered by the reimbursements paid from the national health insurance systems.
The national vaccination programme will always come first, and its future financing and development must be ensured. However, this does not exclude the reimbursability of complementary vaccines.
The national vaccination programme can never include all vaccines. Today, the use of complementary vaccines depends on the people’s level of knowledge, activeness and wealth. Reimbursable vaccines could diminish the wealth-related inequality. Whilst society should encourage people to complement their vaccine protection, it could highlight the indispensability of the basic vaccines.
New therapeutic vaccines
Currently, vaccines are actively developed, especially in Europe. In addition to infectious diseases, research focuses on other diseases, and diseases are not just prevented but, in the future, they can also be cured through vaccination. The first cancer vaccine with a curing effect obtained its US market authorisation in spring 2010.
Vaccines are also being developed for
- juvenile diabetes
- rheumatoid arthritis
- cardiovascular diseases
PIF’s operative focuses in 2012
During its surrent term, the Government intends to look into the reimbursability of both vaccines and preventive treatments as well as the functioning of the vaccination programme.
- We are in favour of the clarifications.
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