Improved Vaccine Affordability and Availability Act

Bill: 108-s-754
Sponsor: Sen. Frist, William H. [R-TN]
Introduced: 2003-04-01 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: AIDS (Disease)
Administrative procedure
Authorization
Bacterial diseases
Brain diseases
Child health
Civil actions and liability
Claims
Clinics
Colleges
Commerce
Community health services
Compensation (Law)
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Counseling
Crime and Law Enforcement
Department of Health and Human Services
Drug industry
Earnings
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Emergency Management
Emergency medicine
Evidence (Law)
Families
Family services
Federal advisory bodies
Federal aid to child health services
Federal aid to health facilities
Federal aid to research
Fire departments
Government Operations and Politics
Government liability
Government publicity
Government trust funds
Governmental investigations
Guardian and ward
Health education
Health maintenance organizations
Health planning
Health warnings
Hepatitis
Higher education
Human immunodeficiency viruses
Influenza
Injunctions
Labor and Employment
Law
Legal fees
Liability (Law)
Limitation of actions
Managed care
Medical laboratories
Medical research
Medical statistics
Medically uninsured
Minority health
Parents
Parties to actions
Police
Prisons
Public health administration
Research grants
Science, Technology, Communications
Sexually transmitted diseases
Social Welfare
State laws
Storage
Transportation and Public Works
Travel
Vaccination
Vaccines
Wrongful death

Summary:
action_date: 2003-04-01
text: Improved Vaccine Affordability and Availability Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize additional appropriations for grants to States to increase influenza immunization rates in high risk populations, including medically underserved adults and adolescents, and extend vaccine availability.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for a program of research, demonstration projects, and education to ensure that immunizations are routinely offered to adults and adolescents by public and private health care providers. Requires such program to collect data on adverse impacts associated with immunizations.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop and disseminate information concerning certain diseases and their vaccines, including bacterial meningitis and hepatitis A and B; and (2) maintain a 6 months supply of prioritized vaccines.
Revises provisions governing the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, including provisions regarding: (1) equitable relief; (2) derivative petitions; and (3) an extension of the statute of limitations.
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions concerning the Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund, including to expand compensated loss for injury or death to include related loss.
Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary to contract with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science to conduct an ongoing, comprehensive review of new scientific data on childhood vaccines.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-04-01
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2003-04-01
text: Introduced in Senate