“Vaccination consistently prevents the most costly consequences of illness: hospitalizations, extended absences, chronic complications, and avoidable disability claims” This approach is out of step with today’s workforce. Employers are supporting aging employees, individuals with chronic conditions, and those more vulnerable to infection − yet vaccines, among the most effective preventive tools in medicine, remain inconsistently covered. As Normandin Beaudry highlights, it is difficult to justify reimbursing preventive drugs like statins while excluding vaccines that prevent severe, costly illness. Some plans also impose unnecessary administrative barriers, such as requiring prescriptions for vaccines already classified as Schedule II (pharmacist‑controlled, non‑prescription). These barriers delay access, create inequities across provinces, and do not reflect modern pharmacy practice.
Delivering the Best in Health Your employees’ health needs continuously evolve. At Sun Life, we get that. We don’t just partner on health solutions – we champion your employees’ well-being as the foundation of everything we do. By providing health strategy resources, inclusive health solutions and innovative insights, we deliver the Best in Health for your team. Together, we’ll help you build a healthy workplace strategy to support a healthy, productive, and engaged workforce.
Visit sunlife.ca/healthstrategy to find resources you can use today.
The cost of waiting for illness Shingles can lead to weeks of acute pain and months of post‑herpetic neuralgia (PHN). The recombinant zoster vaccine demonstrates over 70 percent effectiveness against shingles and over 80 percent against PHN. Long‑term follow‑up shows protection can last beyond a decade. For employers, shingles is a predictable and preventable cause of prolonged absence. Pneumococcal disease is a leading cause of severe respiratory infec‑ tion, especially in older adults and those with health risks. Newer pneu‑ mococcal conjugate vaccines significantly reduce community‑acquired pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease, preventing hospitaliza‑ tions and long recoveries. In practical terms, pneumonia often results in weeks of lost productivity − much of it avoidable. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is an important cause of cervical and oropharyngeal cancers. Canadian guidance clearly positions HPV vaccina‑ tion as cancer prevention. Large Swedish registry studies show a dramatic reduction in invasive cervical cancer among vaccinated individuals, partic‑ ularly when vaccination occurs earlier. Some countries have set national elimination goals − including Australia, which aims to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040, and England, which targets 2035. Early vaccination
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