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AARP advocate urges free vaccines for seniors

April 7, 2023

Making all recommended vaccines available for free for people on Medicare is a smart move to make sure our older adults are protected against serious illnesses, like shingles, whooping cough and tetanus. An AARP analysis found that just 45% of people over 50 with Medicare have had a shingles vaccine, even though it is recommended for everyone over age 50. I am of an age when every family that was able would send their children out of urban areas for the summer because they feared their children would contract polio, a crippling, even fatal, disease until the advent of the Salk and later Sabin polio vaccines.

It is great to see that Medicare can finally start negotiating with drug companies to bring down the prices of prescription drugs. Americans shouldn't be forced to pay the highest prices in the world for our medications, and lower drug prices will save money for both taxpayers and seniors.

Seniors need trusted allies to keep fighting on their behalf. I'm grateful for everyone who had a hand in fighting for these reforms and am happy to see these efforts to help make sure that seniors can afford the medication they need.

John Walsh
AARP advocacy volunteer
Rehoboth Beach

 

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