Title: Recognizing the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox and the importance of vaccination in the United States and worldwide.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
This resolution recognizes the work of scientists in developing vaccines, encourages increased public understanding about the importance of vaccines to prevent disease, and supports funding for vaccine research and education efforts.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 592 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 
   determined 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 result of the disease, which was 3 out 
        of every 10 people who contracted smallpox;
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 reduction 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 resolution 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 continues, including 
        recently developed vaccines to protect against human papillomavirus, the 
        main cause of cervical cancer in women, as well as dengue, and a vaccine 
        currently 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 misinformation about vaccines 
        has led to the resurgence of measles in the United States and around the 
        world;
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 vaccines are both safe and effective: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commends the past and current work of scientists who 
        have spent their careers developing vaccines 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 prevent 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 public health successes 
        achieved to date;
            (4) encourages the public to seek out trusted sources to 
        learn more about vaccines, such as a pediatrician or other 
        clinician, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or 
        the World Health Organization;
            (5) commends the National Science Foundation and the 
        National Institutes of Health for their critical support of 
        vaccine research and development; and
            (6) urges Congress to provide robust funding for vaccine 
        research and education efforts.
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