Untitled

A summary of presentations from the weekly Summit partner webinars

February 19, 2026 – The latest Summit Summary

Federal Update – Abby Bownas, Manager, Adult Vaccine Access Coalition (AVAC)
State Update – Erin Abramsohn, DrPH, Executive Director, Infectious Disease Prevention Network
Economic Impact Study – Robert Popovian, PharmD, MS, Chief Science Policy Officer, Global Healthy Living Foundation (GHLF)
Announcements

Federal Update – Abby Bownas, Manager, Adult Vaccine Access Coalition (AVAC)

Abby Bownas gave an update about recent and upcoming events, policies, and legislation at the federal level related to vaccines and immunization.

VIEW SLIDES

Recent Federal News

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices postponed its planned February 26–27, 2026, meeting.
Mehmet Oz, MD, MBA, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), urged Americans to get the measles vaccination in light of measles outbreaks around the country.
Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health and acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stated during a congressional hearing that he had not seen evidence supporting a connection between autism and vaccines.
The Food and Drug Administration initially said it would not review Moderna’s new mRNA influenza vaccine and then reversed that decision.
CMS’ annual call letter is open for comment; it offers an opportunity to provide input for the record on vaccines.
The fiscal year (FY) 2027 budget process kicks off following the President’s state-of-the-union address this month, and the President’s proposed budget is expected in March.

Recent Vaccine-Related Events in Congress

Congress completed the FY 2026 budget for all but one agency in late January. The Department of Health and Human Services has the same level of funding as in FY 2025, which can be a starting point for the FY 2027 budget negotiations.
- It is anticipated that federal officials will be called to testify in budget hearings.
- The budget process is an opportunity for advocates to engage with agencies around their policies.
Senators are looking into the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, and one has proposed legislation to overhaul it.
AVAC submitted comments in response to a request for information around reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act.
Several representatives have expressed interest in studies of the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose by the Government Accountability Office and CDC.
A number of congressional hearings have addressed health care affordability, and the issue of flu and measles vaccines have come up.
Some congressional members have been promoting the concept of “medical freedom”—resulting, for example, in pressure on states to allow more vaccine exemptions.
Congress is expected to hold hearings on confirming Casey Means as surgeon general.

State Update – Erin Abramsohn, DrPH, Executive Director, Infectious Disease Prevention Network

Erin Abramsohn, DrPH, summarized state legislative efforts to restrict vaccines and immunization.

IDPN works with advocates in 10 (mostly Republican) states to lobby against anti-vaccine legislation and policies. An overview of the landscape at the state level included the following:

A New York Times story outlined coordinated efforts to overturn state vaccine mandates for school entry.
South Carolina’s measles outbreak is now the largest in the country.
Recent polling shows voters, including Republican voters, are less likely to vote for candidates who take an anti-vaccine stance, so there’s been a push for “medical freedom,” because that term resonates better with the public.

Legislative sessions are underway in most states. IDPN is tracking 250 vaccine-related bills across the country, 150 of which are up for discussion in its 10 member states on topics such as:

Medical freedom
School-entry vaccine requirements or exemptions
mRNA vaccines and technology
Infant death autopsy reporting that would require documentation of vaccination status
Liability and reporting requirements
Hepatitis B vaccination

A snapshot of legislation under discussion this week in four states shows the nature of the bills:

Arizona is considering a constitutional amendment, HCR 2056, to prohibit government, educational institutions, and employers from mandating, coercing, or requiring any individual to receive medical treatments or procedures or to wear items on their body. This proposed “right to refuse medical mandates” amendment would prevent vaccination or masking requirements as a condition of employment, education, or access to public spaces; would limit the ability of schools to exclude unvaccinated children during disease outbreaks; and would guarantee the right to refuse any medical treatment, including vaccination. If passed, Arizonans would vote on it in November, and the ballot language is likely to be very confusing to the public.
Idaho is proposing a medical freedom act that would repeal vaccine mandates by any facility, preempt any encouragement of vaccination or medical intervention, limit school and daycare access to immunization registries, and impose a moratorium on gene therapy immunization.
Two bills in South Dakota have been defeated this year: one on medical conscience and another that would have required blood donors to attest whether they have ever had an mRNA vaccine. Two other bills have been pitched as referendums on mRNA vaccines, specifically COVID-19 vaccines; their fate is uncertain given the rejection of the first two.
A South Carolina bill would require parental consent for all medical intervention until age 18 years, and another would require informed consent for COVID-19 vaccines.

Economic Impact Study – Robert Popovian, PharmD, MS, Chief Science Policy Officer, Global Healthy Living Foundation (GHLF)

Robert Popovian, PharmD, MS, outlined the key findings of a recent economic impact study on the burden of flu in the United States.

A GHLF study funded by AVAC concluded that the annual economic burden of flu on adults in the United States is about $29 billion, mostly in direct medical costs but also in significant productivity costs. The study used 2023–24 CDC data on immunization uptake and outcomes and calculated costs in the setting of peak vaccine uptake rates. Older people (age 50 years and up) are more likely than younger adults to experience serious morbidity and hospitalization from flu. Higher immunization rates are associated with better health outcomes, and lower immunization rates are associated with poorer outcomes. Even small improvements in adult flu vaccine uptake can save billions of dollars.

The study has not yet been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal; feedback is welcome on the preprint.
Read an analysis of the findings with policy recommendations.
See AVAC’s one-pager and infographics summarizing the paper’s findings.
Listen to the GHLF podcast about the study.

Many people assume that the flu is innocuous and do not take it seriously. It’s possible that seeing the economic burden will heighten concerns. For example, the measles outbreak in Texas has already cost that state $35 million, and South Carolina’s outbreak is even larger.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Q: The flu is not innocuous, especially for older people and those with underlying conditions. Unfortunately, the perception of low efficacy counters it. Is the issue of declining influenza coverage a legislative policy issue … or do we need to better educate folks on the benefits of influenza vaccination?
Robert Popovian (GHLF): I don’t disagree. I mean, we’ve done a terrible job of explaining, especially with flu, that it’s not only about mortality and morbidity, but it’s also that it reduces the severity of the illness. And I don’t think that message has gotten through, unfortunately. It’s very obvious when you look at polling data that the message needs to come from healthcare professionals. That’s very clear. About 80-90% of people polled [say] … the message should come from the physician and the pharmacist who are taking care of me. I think the messenger is as important as the message.
Abby Bownas (AVAC): In Robert’s paper, … it’s the younger adults that are missing work, right? The older adults have the cost in hospitalization and death. So, I just think it’s a really important story to be thinking about across the life course, … it still has a cost.
LJ Tan (Immunize.org): Yeah, that’s a really good point, and I think appealing to the different age groups because of that, right? The productivity losses when you’re younger, and then it’s a geometric increase in cost as you get older, because hospitalization is just more expensive. I think that’s another way to look at it.

Q: Besides reducing severity of illness, flu vaccine decreases risk of exacerbation of chronic heart disease, and I think that’s something that is becoming clearer. This was mentioned in another economic study from the Office of Health Economics, and they presented here a couple weeks ago. The question is how do we look at the impact of vaccination on reducing exacerbation of chronic illness? Is there a way to actually model that?
Robert Popovian (GHLF): I’m going to put on my technician hat. I did studies similar to this in infectious diseases years ago with regards to cardiovascular and MI [myocardial infarction]. Actually, I was one of the people that worked on a trial that Pfizer did, looking at reducing chlamydia. Infections have been known to cause inflammation, and whenever you have inflammation, there’s an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, so I’m not surprised at what you were told about the flu, because it’s a form of infection that creates inflammation. And we did do those studies, and there was a correlation between infection and MIs. So, I’m not surprised at all that they’re seeing with flu also.

Q: COVID is also prothrombic, as flu is pro-inflammatory, and so there’s all these multi-organ pathologies that come out of COVID infection. So, vaccination also reduces the impact of the disease on all these multi-organ pathologies.
Carolyn Bridges (Immunize.org): I just want to add that it’s been maybe 15 years that the American College of Cardiology has recommended flu vaccine as secondary prevention. So, the data on influenza’s risk of exacerbation of existing cardiac disease is very strong. And as well, [there are] lots of studies on vaccine benefits, so much so that the cardiologists see it as supported secondary prevention, and it’s in their guidelines. But I think a lot of people just don’t know that, and we could really help to make sure people are aware that even the cardiologists are really on board.
LJ Tan (Immunize.org): The data is beginning to mount a little bit for people with diabetes as well, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Q: Telling people that COVID-19 vaccines can prevent Alzheimer’s disease, etc., can have traction with certain demographics. We’re beginning to see the data point that way, but we don’t have a lot of conclusive data. How comfortable are you all saying something like this to policymakers, knowing that there is gray here? There is biological plausibility, definitely, but
some grayness.
Abby Bownas (AVAC): We’ve seen some national polling where they talk about new vaccination technologies, and, you know, right now, I think mRNA, is often in our minds, and we think it’s just COVID. But if you start asking people how they feel about mRNA as a technology that may cure cancer, or provide a vaccine for cancer, it changes. You start to see a lot of support. And so, I would just say, without being able to talk to the science, you can show where people are, and you can present that data, and I think that’s a very powerful thing to be doing right now. It takes it away from the idea that, “this technology means this vaccine.” It actually opens the door to a lot more opportunity.
Robert Popovian (GHLF): The problem is messaging: who are you going to message that to? If you’re going to message that to possibly people who are pro-vaccines and everything else, they’re going to understand it. [From] polling data that I saw this morning: When you start talking about COVID, Republicans just shut down. They don’t want to talk about it. So, it’s a messaging issue.
Erin Abramsohn (IDPN): I’ll give a specific example. In South Carolina, we have a wonderful Republican senator there who represents Spartanburg and the nearby community, and he actually put out a statement on social media saying, “What are we doing here?” We have far too many measles cases, we should not be taking away access to vaccines, rolling back requirements. And he got a ton of flack for it. So, we have been working to educate him and other members whenever we can. He said the two things right now were measles and not believing that mRNA is a technology that should be used or promoted. There are some legislators—you can tell them anything you want about mRNA, and it’s not going to click for them. For me right now, for those that are willing to maybe not vote for it, but might go to a hearing and ask questions that will bring people to the right conclusion. Really trying to give them the tools and the resources to talk about things like mRNA technology and the effectiveness of the measles vaccine.
Abby Bownas (AVAC): There are so many experts that sit around this table, and experts that you all know, and it really, truly is all hands on deck right now in terms of just making sure people’s questions are being answered, whether that’s in the community or as Erin and I talk to policymakers. So, I would just ask that you feel free to lend your expertise out there, because it is very much needed right now.
Erin Abramsohn (IDPN): And it’s really powerful. When they feel like they can confidently defend something, even if they can’t vote for it politically or against it, it is really helpful.
LJ Tan (Immunize.org): It is crunch time, folks. So, as Summit partners, I urge all of you to find avenues for your expertise and participate. I know Carolyn’s very active in Idaho.

Q: There’s a three-part spectrum of vaccine receptivity, and messaging should be [focused on] (1) people who don’t believe in vaccines; (2) people who believe in all vaccines except COVID; and (3) people who believe in all vaccines except COVID and flu. COVID vaccine has turned out to be the backbreaker.
Robert Popovian (GHLF):
Yeah, [it’s] the boogeyman, basically, I would say. We’re better off talking less about COVID, and possibly even less about mRNA, and talking overall about immunization, just because I think people shut down when you start bringing it up.
LJ Tan (Immunize.org): There is a National Foundation for Infectious Diseases statement on mRNA technology that might be helpful for participants.

Q: First, cost is something, and it may not always be a cost question. Because if you can say to someone that taking the flu vaccine will help you avoid a sick day—it goes back to people understanding that there are a lot of benefits to the vaccine, even if it’s not as effective as others. Second, I think we need to be comfortable with the gray in between all of this data, but we also need to make sure that we’re not asking anyone to mandate or require vaccination based on the data, but rather to use the data to ensure that there are no barriers to access.
Robert Popovian (GHLF): Excellent.

Announcements

There will be no weekly meeting on Thursday, February 26, 2026.
Registration is open for the 2026 National Adult and Influenza Immunization Summit, May 19-21, 2026, at the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia, 4355 Ashford Dunwoody Rd, Atlanta, GA 30346 (https://www.izsummitpartners.org/2026-naiis/). Once registered, please follow the link to reserve a hotel room so that NAIIS gets sufficient credit toward its room requirements.
The Summit includes a poster session for scientific abstracts. Posters can be submitted at the same website as registration. Attendees interested must submit their abstract for consideration by March 20, 2026. Submitters will be notified if their poster is accepted by April 3, 2026.