IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 592 
Recognizing the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox and the importance 
of vaccination in the United States and worldwide. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 
Mr. BERA (for himself, Mr. SCHIFF, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. DAVID P. 
ROE of Tennessee, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. KATKO, and Ms. 
SCHRIER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee 
on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox 
and the importance of vaccination in the United States 
and worldwide. 
Whereas 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the eradication 
of the smallpox virus, which was declared by the Global 
Commission for the Certification of Smallpox Eradication 
in December 1979; 
Whereas smallpox was one of the deadliest diseases known to 
humans, and a total of 300,000,000 people died as a re-
sult of the disease, which was 3 out of every 10 people 
who contracted smallpox; 
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Whereas the smallpox vaccine, introduced by Edward Jenner 
in 1796, was the first successful vaccine to be developed; 
Whereas smallpox was the first human disease to have been 
eradicated by vaccines; 
Whereas successful use of the smallpox vaccine led to the re-
duction of smallpox cases, and the last natural smallpox 
case in the United States occurred in 1949; 
Whereas, in 1958, the World Health Assembly passed a reso-
lution calling for the global eradication of smallpox; 
Whereas the last natural occurrence of the smallpox virus in 
the world was in Somalia in 1977; 
Whereas the World Health Organization declared smallpox 
eradicated in 1980; 
Whereas vaccines currently save 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 lives 
annually, and an additional 1,500,000 lives could be 
spared each year if global vaccination rates improved; 
Whereas in the United States, vaccines save 3 times more 
lives than seatbelts and child restraints combined; 
Whereas important research and development of vaccines con-
tinues, including recently developed vaccines to protect 
against human papillomavirus, the main cause of cervical 
cancer in women, as well as dengue, and a vaccine cur-
rently being tested against malaria; 
Whereas the world is on the brink of eradicating polio, with 
only 33 reported wild cases in 2018; 
Whereas the world is at a critical time in which misinforma-
tion about vaccines has led to the resurgence of measles 
in the United States and around the world; 
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Whereas, as of September 19, 2019, the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention has reported that measles cases 
in the United States have climbed to 1,241 in 2019; 
Whereas experts warn that if cases of measles continue to 
climb through the fall of 2019, the United States may no 
longer be deemed to have ‘‘eliminated’’ measles; and 
Whereas the scientific research and the experience of the 
medical community overwhelmingly demonstrate that vac-
cines are both safe and effective: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) commends the past and current work of sci-
entists who have spent their careers developing vac-
cines and transforming the modern world, as well as 
the tireless work of the public health community to 
educate communities about the lifesaving benefits of 
vaccination; 
(2) affirms the importance of vaccines to pre-
vent disease and save lives and the importance of 
herd immunity to protect those who are too young 
or too sick to be vaccinated; 
(3) recognizes that vaccine hesitancy and lack 
of access to vaccines are ongoing threats to the pub-
lic health successes achieved to date; 
(4) encourages the public to seek out trusted 
sources to learn more about vaccines, such as a pedi-
atrician or other clinician, the Centers for Disease 
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Control and Prevention, or the World Health Orga-
nization; 
(5) commends the National Science Foundation 
and the National Institutes of Health for their crit-
ical support of vaccine research and development; 
and 
(6) urges Congress to provide robust funding 
for vaccine research and education efforts. 
Æ 
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