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Possible Change In Child Vaccine Distribution Upsets Doctors

In tomorrow's special legislative session, lawmakers will consider a plan to make doctors get most of their child vaccines from the state. But as WNPR's Jeff Cohen reports, pediatricians across the state don't like the idea.

Currently, doctors who need vaccines for children only have to get them from the state if their patient is on Medicaid. The rest can be bought on the private market. But a change in state law up for discussion could change that -- making it mandatory for doctors to source nearly all of their vaccines from the state.

Mick Bolduc is the vaccine for children coordinator for the state's immunization program. He says the change...

"...will increase the immunization rate in the state, and that will mean more children protected, less children getting sick, less hospitalized visits, and lower overall healthcare costs."

A statewide coalition of physicians opposes the move. Three groups -- the Connecticut State Medical Society, the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Connecticut Academy of Family Physicians -- all say that the change is a bad idea. In a letter to Governor Dannel Malloy, they say they want the flexibility to buy their vaccines on the open market. They also question whether the proposed changes will actually save money.

Sandra Carbonari is a pediatrician in Waterbury, and is the president of the the state Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She says it's already hard enough to get vaccines delivered on time from the health department.

"Eight out of the last twelve months we have not received everything that we ordered."

Carbonari says the proposed changes would just make that problem worse, meaning more delays for patients and possibly fewer vaccinations. But Bolduc -- of the state's immunization program -- says his office will be able to handle the increased demand.

For WNPR, I'm Jeff Cohen.

Jeff Cohen started in newspapers in 2001 and joined Connecticut Public in 2010, where he worked as a reporter and fill-in host. In 2017, he was named news director. Then, in 2022, he became a senior enterprise reporter.

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