Title: Recognizing the importance of vaccinations and immunizations in the United States.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
This resolution commends the international community, health organizations, the private sector, school and community leaders, and faith-based organizations for bolstering health through vaccination.
It also recognizes that the lack of vaccination can create an environment in which a public health crisis could emerge, and that there is no credible evidence that vaccines cause life-threatening or disabling diseases in healthy children or adults.
The resolution also encourages a continued commitment to vaccine research, and urges everyone to follow the scientific evidence and consensus of medical experts in favor of timely vaccinations.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 179 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 179

  Recognizing the importance of vaccinations and immunizations in the 
                             United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 5, 2019

   Mr. Schiff (for himself and Mr. Burgess) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing the importance of vaccinations and immunizations in the 
                             United States.

Whereas the contributions of Louis Pasteur and Edward Jenner to the discovery of 
        the principles of vaccinology are among the most consequential health 
        findings in human history;
Whereas vaccines have made it possible to eradicate smallpox, saving 
        approximately 5 million lives annually, and for the international 
        community to be on the brink of eradicating polio and to have saved an 
        estimated 18 million people from paralysis over the past three decades;
Whereas vaccines have dramatically reduced the spread of crippling and 
        potentially life-threatening diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, 
        measles, mumps, and rubella, and vaccines have prevented the spread of 
        commonly infectious and potentially fatal diseases such as chickenpox, 
        shingles, influenza, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal disease, 
        pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, and whooping cough (pertussis);
Whereas the scientific and medical communities are in overwhelming consensus 
        that vaccines are both effective and safe, and the dissemination of 
        unfounded, and debunked, theories about the dangers of vaccinations pose 
        a great risk to public health, and scientifically sound education and 
        outreach campaigns about vaccination and immunization are fundamental 
        for a well-informed public;
Whereas an estimated 43,000 adults and 300 children die annually from vaccine-
        preventable diseases or their complications in the United States, and 
        the health and livelihood of young children, seniors, individuals with 
        immunodeficiency disorders, and those who cannot be vaccinated, are 
        particularly compromised by communities with low vaccination rates;
Whereas substantial research has shown that vaccination is a highly cost-
        effective form of preventive medicine, and the Centers for Disease 
        Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that between 1994 and 2013, 
        vaccinations saved nearly $295 billion in direct costs and $1.38 
        trillion in total societal costs in the United States;
Whereas vaccines in the United States undergo extensive safety and efficacy 
        testing before licensure by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and 
        are continually monitored for adverse events after health care providers 
        administer them to patients;
Whereas there are four post-marketing surveillance systems in the United States 
        tracking adverse events after vaccination;
Whereas it is estimated that vaccinations will prevent more than 21 million 
        hospitalizations and 732,000 deaths among children born in the last 20 
        years, and that more than 100 million children worldwide are immunized 
        each year and vaccines save an estimated 2.5 million children under age 
        five annually;
Whereas one in five children worldwide still lack access to common vaccines and, 
        as a result, an estimated 1.5 million children die annually from 
        complications of vaccine-preventable diseases such as diarrhea and 
        pneumonia or suffer from permanently debilitating illnesses;
Whereas strong investments in biomedical research to improve existing vaccines 
        and develop many more life-saving vaccines are beneficial to all, both 
        at home and abroad, and a robust immunization infrastructure is 
        essential to the public health and well-being of the people of the 
        United States by preventing and isolating outbreaks of infectious 
        diseases at their source;
Whereas encouraging high vaccination rates and promoting vaccine confidence in 
        the United States protects our citizens from contracting vaccine-
        preventable diseases that are endemic in countries with low vaccination 
        and immunization rates;
Whereas the World Health Organization (WHO) recently identified vaccine 
        hesitancy as a top health threat for 2019, and addressing the many 
        factors that contribute to vaccine hesitancy is crucial in increasing 
        vaccination rates and achieving herd immunity;
Whereas routine and up-to-date vaccination is the most effective method 
        available to prevent the transmission of potentially fatal infectious 
        diseases; and
Whereas the United States has been a leader in promoting vaccinations around the 
        world through the United States Agency for International Development, 
        the CDC, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Polio Eradication 
        Initiative, UNICEF, the WHO, and a host of other multilateral and non-
        governmental organizations: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) commends the international community, global and 
        domestic health organizations, the private sector, school and 
        community leaders, and faith-based organizations for their 
        tireless work and immense contributions to bolstering our 
        global and domestic health through vaccination;
            (2) affirms vaccines and immunizations save lives and are 
        essential to maintain the public health, and the economic and 
        national security of the people of the United States;
            (3) recognizes that the lack of vaccination can create an 
        environment in which a public health crisis could emerge, and 
        that there is no credible evidence demonstrating that vaccines 
        cause life-threatening or disabling diseases in healthy 
        children or adults;
            (4) encourages a continued commitment to biomedical 
        research to improve vaccines and to develop new vaccines 
        against other infectious and fatal diseases; and
            (5) urges everyone, in consultation with their health care 
        provider, to follow the scientific evidence and consensus of 
        medical experts in favor of timely vaccinations to protect 
        themselves, their children, their family, and their community.
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