Good morning. My name is Christian Blouin and I am here today representing Merck Frosst. I would like to begin by thanking you for allowing us to address you today.
We at Merck Frosst Canada are recommending that the government renew funding for the National Immunization Strategy, or NIS, program. I will begin by outlining the program's success in giving Canadians access to new vaccines and why we believe that this program must continue to be funded. I will also speak about two illnesses we can now prevent with vaccines recently developed by Merck Frosst Canada as examples of the types of innovative and cost-effective vaccines envisioned by the NIS program.
In the last 50 years, immunization has saved more lives in Canada than any other health intervention. That is a remarkable feat. Vaccines have incalculable social and economic benefits ranging from reduced hospitalizations and related medical costs to allowing more Canadians to stay healthy and be productive. Vaccines are truly the most cost-beneficial health intervention of our time.
In 2003, the National Immunization Strategy was adopted to ensure Canadians had access to the latest vaccines. Between 2003 and when the NIS was later renewed, five new vaccines were introduced from coast to coast. It has been estimated that twice as many Canadian children were protected against vaccine-preventable diseases in 2006 compared with 2003. This is a monumental achievement on the part of Canadian members of parliament.
In 2007, thanks to continued government funding of the NIS, $300 million was provided to support HPV immunization programs across the country. Today, although terms of coverage for this vaccine vary between individual provinces and territories, cohorts of girls are able to receive protection from the risk of contracting cervical cancer. This is an innovation which will save thousands of lives in years to come. However, despite these successes, there are continuing gaps and disparities in access to vaccines. Most new vaccines have not been incorporated into provincial public immunization programs, putting Canadians unnecessarily at risk. This is why Canadians need to know that the NIS will continue to support access to important and innovative vaccines.
We will look at two specific examples of how the NIS can help to protect Canadians from shingles and rotavirus—two examples of innovative vaccines which offer tangible benefits to Canadians. Shingles—also known as Herpes zoster—can cause debilitating pain, as well as scarring, pneumonia, hearing loss, and facial paralysis. Shingles will affect one out of every three people in this room over the course of our lifetime. The risk increases with age, with half of cases involving people over 50. The pain caused by shingles too often prevents over-60 Canadians from leading full and productive lives—interfering with activities ranging from employment to housework. Shingles impacts our health care system, resulting in up to 252,000 physician visits annually. Shingles also impacts our long-term facilities, which are already overburdened. However we now finally have a vaccine available. ZOSTAVAX was approved by Health Canada in 2008. ZOSTAVAX cuts in half the incidence of shingles for those over 60—turning what used to be inescapable for many into a preventable illness.
A second recent Merck Frosst vaccine, approved by Health Canada in 2006, prevents rotavirus. Virtually every Canadian under the age of three has been infected with it. Though rarely fatal, it disrupts the lives of families of children who contract the illness as it is a severe type of gastroenteritis with quick onset. The cost of work lost by adult family members of sufferers amounts to $25 million per year. Rotavirus leads to 5,500 hospitalizations, 17,000 emergency room visits and 41,000 physician consultations annually. However, the RotaTeq vaccine, by preventing the onset of rotavirus, can reduce physician visits by 86%. Indeed, a vaccine such as RotaTeq is especially critical to vulnerable populations including aboriginals, who often face crowded living conditions, may lack running water and where healthcare services may be limited. Like all other Canadian infants, children of families in this type of environment would greatly benefit from having a vaccine which would prevent the hardship and rapid spread of rotavirus.
Right now neither the shingles nor the rotavirus vaccines are part of provincial public immunization campaigns and so Canadians are losing out on important opportunities to stay healthy and productive. Vaccines have proven themselves again and again as the most cost-effective health intervention. This is why the National Immunization Strategy cannot be allowed to lapse. Canadians count on being able to access innovative vaccines which also offer tangible financial benefits.
Furthermore, in this era of pandemic concerns when hospital and medical services may be even further taxed, it makes sense to reduce the number of otherwise avoidable hospital visits wherever feasible. This is an example where government has a chance to show leadership and really make a difference.
We recommend, first, that the federal government commit to renewing the NIS program by investing the sum of $100 million per year to ensure Canadians have access to important new and innovative vaccines; second, that the federal government work with provinces and territories towards establishing a permanent funding mechanism to ensure adoption of new, recommended vaccines in public health programs within six months of their approval by Health Canada; finally, that the Government of Canada ensure that NIS program funding is separate from the Canadian Health Transfer payments to provinces and territories so that funds are designated specifically for immunization programs.