Expressing the sense of Congress that public health professionals should be commended for their dedication and service to the United States on Public Health Thank You Day November 22 2021.

Expressing the sense of Congress that public health professionals should be commended for their dedication and service to the United States on Public Health Thank You Day, November 22, 2021. Whereas the health, security, and well-being of all people in the United States is integral to a functioning democracy and strong economy; Whereas public health research and practice advances each of these core attributes of a thriving Nation; Whereas emerging and reemerging infectious and zoonotic diseases are an ongoing threat to the health of people in the United States and globally; Whereas COVID–19 has affirmed the dedication of public health professionals, including environmental health professionals, epidemiologists, public health nurses, health educators, mental health professionals, microbiologists, and many other critical professionals; Whereas the dedicated individuals who work to advance the public health play an instrumental role in lessening the burden of disease through research, surveillance and monitoring, education, and prevention by developing strategies, tools, policies, and programs, and in so doing are essential to improving quality of life and extending life expectancy; Whereas public health professionals have continuously shown their value in reducing and abating health and environmental threats such as influenza, tracing and addressing food-borne illnesses and other disease outbreaks, and promoting wellness by encouraging healthy behaviors; Whereas almost half a million Americans die each year from smoking, and more than 1,000 cases of acute vaping-related disease have been documented across the country since June 2019; Whereas poor air quality, poor water quality, inadequate sanitation, social determinants, and behavioral factors exacerbate disease; Whereas, as of November 1, 2021, COVID–19, a global pandemic, has claimed the lives of more than 745,535 Americans and 5,000,000 individuals across the globe; Whereas public health professionals continue to tirelessly serve as a first line of defense against COVID–19; Whereas first responders who put themselves in harm’s way to protect and defend the public health are an imperative resource to the United States and its citizens; Whereas public health professionals are devoted to preventing other infectious diseases from spreading and to reducing the impact of the spectrum of longstanding and emerging global health threats in order to forestall and minimize the damage of future outbreaks; Whereas public health professionals play a critical role in combating opioid addiction and opioid-related overdose deaths, which are devastating communities across the Nation, an epidemic concurrent with the COVID–19 pandemic; Whereas public health professionals are pivotal to combating antimicrobial resistance, which affects 2,800,000 people in the United States and leads to the deaths of at least 35,000 Americans and 700,000 individuals globally each year; Whereas public health professionals play a central role in reducing racial, ethnic, and geographical disparities in health and health care that erode the Nation’s strength, prosperity, and productivity; Whereas COVID–19 has intensified health disparities, disproportionately affecting communities of color and creating acute health care challenges in rural areas of the Nation; and Whereas public health professionals are among the heroic first responders who confront and work to prevent natural disasters and environmental hazards that present a persistent threat to the life, health, and safety of all individuals in the United States: Now, therefore, be it That it is the sense of Congress that public health professionals are to be applauded, extolled, and thanked on Public Health Thank You Day for their widespread and meaningful contributions to the Nation and global community.

Summary: This concurrent resolution expresses the sense of Congress that public health professionals are to be commended and thanked on Public Health Thank You Day for their important contributions to the nation.