| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The observance of Vaccine Awareness and Advocacy Day |
|
|
at the State Capitol on March 29, 2023, provides an opportunity to |
|
|
highlight vaccination as a crucial public health strategy; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Vaccines exist at the intersection of personal and |
|
|
public health; a vaccinated individual receives beneficial |
|
|
protection for themselves and also imparts protection to their |
|
|
local community by preventing the spread of infection to others; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In the 20th century alone, smallpox killed |
|
|
approximately 300 million people worldwide; the advent of the |
|
|
smallpox vaccine resulted in global eradication by 1980; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Polio caused more than 16,000 cases of paralysis in |
|
|
the United States every year before the development of the polio |
|
|
vaccine in 1955; this horrible disease is now considered virtually |
|
|
nonexistent in the Americas; vaccines have also eradicated rubella |
|
|
and significantly reduced infection rates for measles, mumps, |
|
|
diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, and chicken pox; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, High vaccination rates in the United States have not |
|
|
only saved lives but kept the country largely free of many diseases |
|
|
that cause severe, enduring impacts to survivors in other parts of |
|
|
the world; vaccine access and equity are vital to ensure lasting |
|
|
herd immunity for Americans and avoid outbreaks of preventable |
|
|
diseases; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, When enough people in a community become immune to |
|
|
an infectious disease, herd immunity slows the spread of that |
|
|
illness and protects those who do not have immunity, including |
|
|
newborn babies, the elderly, people undergoing chemotherapy, and |
|
|
others with weakened immune systems; while contributing to the |
|
|
well-being of individuals, herd immunity also keeps disease |
|
|
outbreaks from overwhelming health care systems; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, The percentage of the population necessary to confer |
|
|
herd immunity varies among diseases; for instance, although |
|
|
approximately 80 percent of the population must be immune to |
|
|
prevent the spread of polio, measles is so highly communicable that |
|
|
it requires approximately 95 percent immunity to stop it from |
|
|
sweeping through a community; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Vaccines have been an enormous boon to humankind, |
|
|
reducing death and suffering for hundreds of millions of people |
|
|
around the world, but in order to ensure continued protection, we |
|
|
must remain vigilant about improving access among all members of |
|
|
society; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby recognize March 29, 2023, as Vaccine Awareness |
|
|
and Advocacy Day at the State Capitol. |