Phyllis Arthur is the Senior Vice President of Infectious Diseases and Emerging Science Policy at BIO, the Biotechnology Innovation Organization. 

Federal Newswire:

What is the public health community doing to get ready for respiratory illness season or future pandemics?

Phyllis Arthur:

The more success we have in helping everybody understand their individual risk, and the power of the new innovations that are coming … the more we lay a great foundation for being ready for the next pandemic. Because, highly likely, the next pandemic is either respiratory or bacterial. 

We have the viruses that are constantly sneaking up on us and getting more and more frequent, and the bacterial issues that are poking through because of antimicrobial resistance. We have several different potential waves coming at us that could cause a lot of unnecessary disease and economic problems if we don't solve them. I think of these two things as being really connected. 

We have COVID updated vaccines coming in the next couple of days. We have new respiratory syncytial virus vaccines that have been introduced [and for] RSV, the other respiratory illness that was causing so many problems for parents over this last year, as well as putting seniors in the hospital. We have vaccines for elderly, and a monoclonal antibody for babies. 

We have a vaccine with an indication for pregnant women that protects babies … and new innovations for RSV. 

We [also] have the new updated vaccines coming for COVID that I understand are going to be very efficacious and really work against the variants that we're seeing now. Then we have, of course, the importance of continuing to keep high levels for flu vaccine, because you're not sure which of these respiratory illnesses you're going to get.

Many of us have underlying conditions that make any of these respiratory [illnesses] worse for us. How do we get people to understand that they can get any one of these three–or every one of these three–in a staggered way over the next couple of months. 

They could get their RSV vaccine right now, they're in pharmacies, doctors are ordering them. They can get the COVID vaccines when they come out. They can get the flu shot in late September or early October to make sure it lasts through the season. 

They should be talking to their pharmacist, their nurse, their nurse practitioner, their doctor, right now, to say, "I want to stack these vaccines on top of each other so I'm protected." That's part one.

I think the second part is the innovations represented in those vaccines actually are the base for our pandemic preparedness. The work done on mRNA for COVID is now going to be applied, and the processes used to make them– along with other new vaccines–actually give us an opportunity to build a foundation for pivoting to both viruses we know have pandemic potential as well as the unknown virus that could come at us tomorrow.

Remember that these vaccines, like the mRNA vaccines for example, they're not brand new. They actually were being researched for SARS and MERS, if you remember that. These vaccines had 10, 12, 15 years of research and development on them before they actually hit with COVID.

Federal Newswire:

Are vaccines a public good, so the government and private sector have an important role to play in their development and use?

Phyllis Arthur:

Absolutely. The public health sector wants to make sure people have access, and that they have the information they need to make the right decision for their family and themselves. That's really what we're all trying to do, is make sure that people have good, clear information, that they're talking to the trusted medical person they know well.

Federal Newswire:

When people go to the doctor do you recommend they ask them about vaccines?

Phyllis Arthur:

Absolutely. It's really important for people to take the time to think about their risk. Literally, underlying conditions, the fact that we're all trying to live our best lives. We don't want to go back to masks, or closing anything, that's not what anyone's talking about.

Federal Newswire:

What do you say when people question the efficacy of vaccines?

Phyllis Arthur:

I think of it as risk management. People need to understand that the risk of COVID, or RSV, or flu. What can come from that [is] hospitalization, respiratory illness, complications from diseases you already have. 

You don't want these consequences of these infectious diseases across the board. There are over 700 hospitalizations for children under 12 right now with COVID. This is a surprise. I think we all think that no one's having consequences, and a lot of Americans are having consequences. 

Federal Newswire:

If the CDC makes a recommendation, is that effectively a mandate?

Phyllis Arthur:

[No.] Mandates are something decided at the state level, [or by the] federal government. Companies [don’t decide that].

The [CDC] recommendation is such that clinicians can have clear conversations with people. That's it. The cleanest, quickest way to that broad insurance coverage with no out-of-pocket is a routine recommendation for all populations for which the vaccine is indicated by the FDA.

We don't want people to have any access issues. We want you to be able to walk into a pharmacy, know that your insurance…has your immunizer that is covered–walk into that pharmacy, get whatever vaccine you were going to get there. This is what we're shooting for. 

Federal Newswire:

What if people are hesitant to get the vaccine because they’re afraid to pay?

Phyllis Arthur:

If you have Medicaid, Medicare, A, B or C or D, and private insurance, you should not face this issue. The stronger that recommendation that comes from the CDC, the faster the insurers of all types will make that available with zero out-of-pocket cost.

Federal Newswire:

Does BIO participate in public education efforts on these issues? 

Phyllis Arthur:

Absolutely. One of the things we've been doing the entire time of the COVID pandemic, [is] supporting trusted organizations close to the community. They are talking about routine immunization, getting people back on track for getting their kids up-to-date, getting their teenagers up-to-date, making sure that grandma and grandpa are up-to-date, that any patient with an underlying condition is up-to-date. 

We are focusing a lot on partnering with those organizations. People are doing things with barbershops and hair stylists, and working with the Olympic committees and the various Olympic teams. 

[There is the] Black Church initiative and Evangelical Church initiative, where a doctor might come from the community or have a health fair. People doing things at state fairs where they've got doctors from the community offering vaccines at a location. BIO is supporting a lot of those.

Federal Newswire:

Is this trickle-up healthcare?

Phyllis Arthur:

Absolutely. Small businesses often … work with, say, the Visiting Nurses Association, or the CVS local, to vaccinate their staff. Those folks on the ground, pharmacists, visiting nurses, health departments, are happy to come at the behest of somebody and vaccinate.

Federal Newswire:

With vaccines, is it that you won’t get sick, or as sick?

Phyllis Arthur:

It's important to know, if you get sick, either unfortunately [because] you don't get vaccinated, or you get vaccinated and somehow you have a breakthrough, there are really good treatments that your doctor should talk to you about.

You've got Plaxovid, you've got two antivirals. Well-researched. These are both really cool breakthroughs. Before we weren't sure how to approach antivirals for this particular virus. So these two products represent really good technology. They were well-researched globally, and so it's really important for people to be able to get these quickly, and take action quickly.