I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2862 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national system 
for surveillance of vaccine rates, to authorize research on vaccine hesi-
tancy, to increase public understanding of the benefits of immunizations, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 21, 2019 
Ms. SCHRIER (for herself, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. 
SCHRADER, and Mr. BILIRAKIS) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for 
a national system for surveillance of vaccine rates, to 
authorize research on vaccine hesitancy, to increase pub-
lic understanding of the benefits of immunizations, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Vaccine Awareness 
Campaign to Champion Immunization Nationally and En-
hance Safety Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘VACCINES Act of 
2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. VACCINE SURVEILLANCE AND RESEARCH. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 317 of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(n) VACCINE SURVEILLANCE AND RESEARCH.— 
‘‘(1) SURVEILLANCE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 
through the Director of the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, and in consultation 
with the National Vaccine Advisory Committee 
and the Director of the National Vaccine Pro-
gram, shall develop and deploy a national sys-
tem for surveillance of vaccination rates. 
‘‘(B) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The sur-
veillance system under subparagraph (A) may 
include the following: 
‘‘(i) Use of immunization data avail-
able to the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention and its contractors. 
‘‘(ii) Integration of data from existing 
systems— 
‘‘(I) to measure vaccination con-
fidence over time; 
‘‘(II) to understand variations 
across time and geography; and 
‘‘(III) to measure vaccine refusal. 
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‘‘(C) USE OF DATA.—The Secretary may 
use data collected pursuant to the surveillance 
system under subparagraph (A) to predict and 
identify areas and communities where— 
‘‘(i) vaccines are or will be underuti-
lized; 
‘‘(ii) vaccine confidence is low or de-
creasing; or 
‘‘(iii) misinformation about the safety 
of vaccines, not supported by scientific or 
medical evidence, has been directed in a 
targeted manner. 
‘‘(D) CONSULTATION.—In developing the 
surveillance system under subparagraph (A), 
the Secretary shall consult with the National 
Academies to synthesize existing evidence and 
develop a standardized measurement of vaccine 
confidence. 
‘‘(E) FUNDING.—There are authorized to 
be appropriated $15,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2020 through 2024 to carry out this 
paragraph. 
‘‘(2) GRANTS FOR RESEARCH.—The Secretary 
may award grants for research— 
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‘‘(A) to improve the understanding of vac-
cine hesitancy; 
‘‘(B) to improve understanding of health 
care provider attitudes and beliefs toward vac-
cination; and 
‘‘(C) to develop effective strategies for ad-
dressing non-adherence to the safe and rec-
ommended use of vaccines and encouraging the 
safe and recommended use of vaccines.’’. 
(b) UPDATE OF 2015 NVAC REPORT.—The National 
Vaccine Advisory Committee shall— 
(1) assess the state of vaccine confidence in the 
United States; and 
(2) update the findings and recommendations in 
the report on this topic approved by the National 
Vaccine Advisory Committee on June 10, 2015. 
SEC. 3. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ON THE IMPOR-
TANCE OF VACCINATIONS. 
Section 317 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 247b), as amended by section 3, is further amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(o) PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ON THE IMPOR-
TANCE OF VACCINATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 
through the Director of the Centers for Disease 
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Control and Prevention, shall carry out a national 
campaign to increase awareness of the importance 
of, combat misinformation about, and increase rates 
of, vaccinations across the lifespan. 
‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out the cam-
paign under this subsection, the Secretary shall con-
sult with the National Academy of Medicine and na-
tionally recognized private entities, including medical 
and public health associations and nonprofit organi-
zations, to solicit advice on evidence-based informa-
tion for policy development and program develop-
ment, implementation, and evaluation. 
‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The campaign under 
this subsection— 
‘‘(A) shall be an evidence-based media and 
public engagement initiative; 
‘‘(B) shall be carried out through competi-
tively bid contracts awarded to one or more 
public or private entities; 
‘‘(C) may include the use of television, 
radio, print, the internet, and other commercial 
marketing venues; 
‘‘(D) may include the use of in-person pub-
lic communications; 
‘‘(E) may be targeted to— 
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‘‘(i) specific groups and local needs of 
communities with high rates of unvaccinat-
ed individuals; or 
‘‘(ii) areas or communities identified 
pursuant to subsection (n)(1)(C); 
‘‘(F) shall include the development of cul-
turally and linguistically competent resources 
that may be tailored for communities with high 
rates of unvaccinated individuals; 
‘‘(G) shall include the dissemination of 
vaccine information and vaccine communication 
resources to health care providers and health 
care facilities, including pharmacists, State and 
local public health departments, and health care 
providers and facilities that provide prenatal 
and pediatric care; 
‘‘(H) may include the use of recognized 
trusted figures; 
‘‘(I) shall be complementary to, and coordi-
nated with, any other Federal efforts; 
‘‘(J) shall include message testing to iden-
tify culturally competent and effective messages 
for behavioral change; 
‘‘(K) may include the dissemination of in-
formation highlighting— 
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‘‘(i) advancements in research and 
vaccine development that have saved mil-
lions of individuals from death and dis-
ability from now-preventable diseases; 
‘‘(ii) information on how individuals 
across the lifespan benefit from immuniza-
tions, including those who cannot be vac-
cinated and rely on community immunity; 
‘‘(iii) information on the dangers of 
not being vaccinated, including the poten-
tial for infectious disease outbreaks within 
communities; and 
‘‘(iv) information on vaccine safety 
and the systems in place to monitor vac-
cine safety; 
‘‘(L) shall include the award of grants to 
State, local, and tribal public health depart-
ments— 
‘‘(i) to identify and prioritize engage-
ment with communities with high rates of 
unvaccinated individuals; 
‘‘(ii) to engage communities with high 
rates of unvaccinated individuals in under-
standing the challenges to increasing vac-
cination rates in the respective commu-
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nities and developing effective strategies 
(including through formative research or 
focus groups) to increase such rates; and 
‘‘(iii) to encourage partnerships with 
community organizations and health care 
providers to develop and deliver evidence 
based interventions to increase vaccination 
rates; and 
‘‘(M) may include the development and dis-
semination of evidence-based scientific curricula 
for use in public elementary schools and sec-
ondary schools (as defined in section 8101 of 
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965) on infectious disease outbreaks and 
how they can be prevented and controlled. 
‘‘(4) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) establish baseline measures and 
benchmarks to quantitatively evaluate the im-
pact of the campaign under this subsection; 
‘‘(B) conduct qualitative assessments re-
garding the effectiveness of strategies employed 
under this subsection; and 
‘‘(C) prepare and submit to the Committee 
on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep-
resentatives and the Committee on Health, 
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Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 
an evaluation of the campaign. 
‘‘(5) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 
through 2024 to carry out this subsection.’’. 
Æ 
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