1Recognizing the week of April 24 through 30, 2014, as "World
2Immunization Week" in Pennsylvania.

3WHEREAS, Vaccines are among the 20th century's most
4successful and cost-effective public health tools available for
5preventing disease and death; and

6WHEREAS, According to the United Nations Children's Fund
7(UNICEF), immunization can be credited with saving approximately
8nine million lives a year; and

9WHEREAS, Worldwide, infectious diseases are the leading cause
10of death of children and adolescents and one of the leading
11causes in adults; and

12WHEREAS, While significant advances have been made in
13interventions to prevent and treat most of these diseases, those
14interventions are often unavailable to the populations most in
15need; and

1WHEREAS, According to the World Health Organization, 16
2million deaths a year could be prevented if effective vaccines
3were deployed against all potentially vaccine-preventable
4diseases; and

5WHEREAS, Approximately 6.8 million children under five years
6of age die each year from infectious and parasitic disease
7around the world, according to the World Health Organization;
8and

9WHEREAS, Two million children, globally, die each year from
10diseases that can be prevented by currently available vaccines;
11and

12WHEREAS, National immunization levels are at or near record
13highs for most vaccines and most vaccine-preventable diseases
14have been reduced by 99% or more; and

15WHEREAS, Nevertheless, the United States is experiencing a
16resurgence in previously eradicated diseases, such as measles;
17and

18WHEREAS, According to USA Today, officials declared measles
19eradicated in the United States in 2000, and yet, this year the
20disease is on track to infect three times as many people as in
212009; and

22WHEREAS, According to the United States Department of Health
23and Human Services, 50 thousand to 70 thousand adults die
24annually in the United States from vaccine-preventable disease;
25and

26WHEREAS, According to the Department of Health, every year in
27this Commonwealth, over 100 thousand babies are born, each of
28whom deserves routine immunizations by two years of age to
29protect against 14 vaccine–preventable diseases; and

30WHEREAS, In some countries immunization rates are stagnating,

1and even declining, due to the great disparity that exists
2between industrialized and developing countries in the
3availability of vaccines; and

4WHEREAS, Immunization coverage is a centerpiece in the design
5and assessment of international developmental efforts; and

6WHEREAS, A group of international organizations declared the
7week of April 24 through 30, 2014, as the World Immunization
8Week, a global initiative that aims to promote the use of
9vaccines to protect, or immunize, people of all ages against
10disease; and

11WHEREAS, The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, a
12global network comprising governments, bilateral agencies,
13technical agencies, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the
14World Bank, the pharmaceutical industry, the Bill and Melinda
15Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation have joined
16together to improve access to sustainable immunization services
17and expand the use of all existing safe and cost-effective
18vaccines; and

19WHEREAS, These organizations are accelerating research and
20development efforts for vaccines worldwide, particularly
21vaccines against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired
22immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), malaria and tuberculosis; and

23WHEREAS, Increased routine vaccination for measles, bacterial
24meningitis, tetanus, diphtheria, polio, pertussis, yellow fever
25and rotavirus greatly improved with better coordination and
26additional outside founding from groups like the Global Alliance
27for Vaccines and Immunization; and

28WHEREAS, Remarkable progress has been made in immunization in
29several countries to ensure that every eligible individual is
30immunized with all appropriate vaccines, irrespective of

1geographical location, age, gender, disability, educational
2level, socioeconomic level, ethnic group or work condition; and

3WHEREAS, According to the World Health Organization,
4immunization programs currently save about three million lives
5per year worldwide and prevent 750 thousand cases of blindness,
6paralysis and mental disability; and

7WHEREAS, Maintaining high immunization rates protects the
8entire community by interrupting transmission of disease-causing
9viruses and bacteria; and

10WHEREAS, A week profiling the importance of immunization in
11this Commonwealth and highlighting the global immunization
12campaign, would increase public awareness that many diseases are
13effectively and safely prevented or controlled by immunization,
14thereby reducing the burden of illness in our communities;
15therefore be it

16RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
17week of April 24 through 30, 2014, as "World Immunization Week"
18in Pennsylvania and urge the people of this Commonwealth to
19support the efforts, programs, services and organizations that
20work across the globe to enhance public awareness of the
21importance of immunization.