II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 345 

To establish a national campaign to increase maternal vaccination rates. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 22, 2021 

Mr. KAINE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish a national campaign to increase maternal 

vaccination rates. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maternal Vaccinations 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MATERNAL VACCINATION AWARENESS AND EQUITY 

7 CAMPAIGN. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

9 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec10 retary’’), acting through the Director of the Centers for 


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1 Disease Control and Prevention, shall carry out a national 

2 campaign to— 

3 (1) increase awareness of the importance of ma4 ternal vaccinations for the health of pregnant and 

5 postpartum individuals and their children; and 

6 (2) increase maternal vaccination rates, with a 

7 focus on communities with historically high rates of 

8 unvaccinated individuals. 

9 (b) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the campaign 

10 under this section, the Secretary shall consult with rel11 evant community-based organizations, health care profes12 sional associations and public health associations, State 

13 public health departments and local public health depart14 ments, Tribal-serving organizations, nonprofit organiza15 tions, and nationally recognized private entities. 

16 (c) ACTIVITIES.—The campaign under this section 

17 shall— 

18 (1) focus on increasing maternal vaccination 

19 rates in communities with historically high rates of 

20 unvaccinated individuals, including for pregnant and 

21 postpartum individuals from racial and ethnic mi22 nority groups; 

23 (2) include efforts to engage with pregnant and 

24 postpartum individuals in communities with histori25 cally high rates of unvaccinated individuals to seek 


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1 input on the development and effectiveness of the 

2 campaign; 

3 (3) provide evidence-based, culturally congruent 

4 resources and communications efforts; and 

5 (4) be carried out in partnership with trusted 

6 individuals and entities in communities with histori7 cally high rates of unvaccinated individuals, includ8 ing community-based organizations, community 

9 health centers, perinatal health workers, and mater10 nity care providers. 

11 (d) COLLABORATION.—The Secretary shall ensure 

12 that the information and resources developed for the cam13 paign under this section are made publicly available and 

14 shared with relevant Federal, State, and local entities. 

15 (e) EVALUATION.—Not later than the end of fiscal 

16 year 2025, the Secretary shall— 

17 (1) establish quantitative and qualitative 

18 metrics to evaluate the campaign under this section; 

19 and 

20 (2) submit a report detailing the impact of the 

21 campaign under this section to Congress. 

22 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

23 (1) MATERNITY CARE PROVIDER.—The term 

24 ‘‘maternity care provider’’ means a health care pro25 vider who— 


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1 (A) is a physician, physician assistant, 

2 midwife who meets at a minimum the inter3 national definition of the midwife and global 

4 standards for midwifery education as estab5 lished by the International Confederation of 

6 Midwives, nurse practitioner, or clinical nurse 

7 specialist; and 

8 (B) has a focus on maternal or perinatal 

9 health. 

10 (2) PERINATAL HEALTH WORKER.—The term 

11 ‘‘perinatal health worker’’ means a doula, commu12 nity health worker, peer supporter, breastfeeding 

13 and lactation educator or counselor, nutritionist or 

14 dietitian, childbirth educator, social worker, home 

15 visitor, language interpreter, or navigator. 

16 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

17 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

18 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 

Æ 


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