Free Adult Vaccines Available Through Patient Assistance Program

By News Staff
9/20/2006

Family physicians can help their low-income and uninsured adult patients in need of vaccinations get free vaccines through a new patient assistance program offered by Merck and Co. Inc.

The program is available through licensed health care prescribers to patients who

are age 19 or older;
reside in the United States (U.S. citizenship is not required);
have no health insurance coverage; and
have an annual household income less than $19,600 for individuals, $26,500 for couples, or $40,000 for a family of four.

According to information on the Merck Web site, exceptions may be made for patients deemed to have a financial or medical hardship.

Patients can complete the application form, which is available on the Web site, in their physician's office. The physician then can fax the forms directly to Merck, where applications will be processed in 10 minutes or less. The quick turnaround time will enable patients to receive their vaccines at the time of the office visit.

The application must be approved before administration of the vaccine to qualify for the program.

The program comprises all of Merck's adult vaccines:

Gardasil® (quadrivalent human papillomavirus, types 6, 11, 16, 18 recombinant vaccine, investigational);
M-M-R® II (measles, mumps and rubella virus vaccine live);
Pneumovax® 23 (pneumococcal vaccine polyvalent);
Recombivax HB® (Hepatitis B vaccine, recombinant);
Vaqta® (Hepatitis A vaccine, inactivated);
Varivax® (varicella virus vaccine live, Oka/Merck); and
Zostavax® (zoster vaccine live, Oka/Merck).

"Removing financial barriers to access to life-saving vaccines for poorer adults is important," says Walter Orenstein, M.D., director of the Emory Program for Vaccine Policy and Development and associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center, on the Web site. "This program is a bold step to try to assure that lower-income adults can receive the benefits vaccines have to offer."

Questions? Call (800) 293-3881 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST for additional information about the program.

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