Senate Resolution No. 3268

BY: Senator HANNON

MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim
August 2018, 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 2018, 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,
on average, more than 36,000 people die from seasonal influenza
complications: 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 1.25 million people are
chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) and can infect
household members and sexual partners; and

WHEREAS, Approximately 20 million Americans are currently infected
with human Papillomavirus (HPV); another six million people become newly
infected each year; HPV is so common that at least 50% of 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 2018, as
Immunization Awareness Month in the State of New York, in conjunction
with the observance of National Immunization Awareness Month; 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.