Declare Immunization Awareness Month

Senate Resolution No. 242 BY: Senator RIVERA MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim August 2019, as Immunization Awareness Month in the State of New York WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize official months that are set aside to increase awareness of serious issues that affect the lives of citizens of New York State; and WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim August 2019, as Immunization Awareness Month in the State of New York, in conjunction with the observance of National Immunization Awareness Month; and WHEREAS, The mission of National Immunization Awareness Month is to increase awareness about immunizations from infants to the elderly; and WHEREAS, Vaccines are one of the great public health achievements; thanks to vaccines, serious and often fatal diseases like polio, that were once common, are now only distant memories for most Americans; and WHEREAS, Immunization is one of the most effective ways to protect children and adults against many common infectious and sometimes deadly diseases; and WHEREAS, Immunization is not just for kids, adults need to get vaccinated too; and WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), thousands of American adults get sick each year from diseases that vaccines can prevent; for patients with asthma or COPD, vaccines are an important step in protecting their health from serious diseases like influenza, measles and pneumonia; and WHEREAS, Vaccines have eradicated smallpox, eliminated wild poliovirus in the United States and significantly reduced the number of cases of measles and other diseases; and WHEREAS, Without immunizations, a child is at greater risk of catching one of the vaccine-preventable diseases; there are 10 routine childhood vaccines that protect children from the 14 vaccine-preventable diseases; most childhood vaccines produce immunity 90 percent to 100 percent of the time; and WHEREAS, Hospitalization rates for influenza are high among the elderly and among children, especially those under one year; each year,

90 percent of these deaths are in persons 65 years of age and older; and WHEREAS, Each year in the United States, pneumococcal disease accounts for nearly 40,000 cases of bacteremia (bloodstream infection), and several thousand cases of meningitis which is the inflammation of the tissues and fluids surrounding the brain and spinal cord; and WHEREAS, In the United States, an estimated 850,000 to 2 million people are chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and can infect household members and sexual partners; and WHEREAS, Approximately 79 million Americans are infected with human Papillomavirus (HPV); another 14 million people become newly infected each year; HPV is so common that nearly all sexually active men and women get it at some point in their lives according to the CDC; and WHEREAS, When a person gets vaccinated, they not only protect themselves but also help protect the people around them who might be too young or too sick to get vaccinated; this is called "community immunity"; if enough people stopped getting vaccinated, outbreaks of now-rare vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, could return; and WHEREAS, It is imperative that there be greater awareness of this serious health issue, and more must be done to increase activity at the local, State and National levels; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim August 2019, as Immunization Awareness Month in the State of New York; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York.