Getting immunized to prevent someone from becoming severely ill, or even dying, from a virus is the end goal. But for that to happen, a patient must first travel to a clinic or medical facility to get the shot.
That’s where Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-San Pedro, is hoping to address a gap in health care access.
Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-San Pedro (Courtesy photo)Barragán recently introduced the Vaccine Transportation Access Act. The bill is similar to one she proposed in 2021 — that one never passed out of committee — which would have provided transportation to vaccine appointments for people looking to get their COVID-19 shots.
Her latest bill takes that same idea but expands it to include any vaccine recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of Oct. 25, 2024, or under any evidence-based guidelines from U.S. professional medical associations.
“Getting vaccinated can help protect against preventable illnesses, hospitalizations and increased health care costs across communities,” Barragán said. “But in many communities like mine, patients may lack the financial resources or reliable transportation to get to their routine check-up — and the closest health center or hospital can be miles away.”
She said the legislation would ensure that Americans can receive “critical” preventive care “at a time when vaccine access and affordability are under attack.”
The bill proposes to award grants to community organizations that help people from low-income communities, minority communities or other communities where a lack of transportation has created a barrier to health care access get to or from their appointments. This could include providing transportation directly to or from a vaccine administration site or transportation for the last mile between a public transit station and the medical facility.
“Immunizations are one of our most important tools to protect public and personal health. However, in order to realize this protection, patients need to be able to access vaccines,” Jason Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians, said in a statement.
Besides Goldman’s group, the proposed legislation has been endorsed by a handful of other medical groups, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Pharmacists Association.
It is also endorsed by the ride-share companies Lyft and Uber, according to Barragán’s office.
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