Bill Text: TX HR801 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Recognizing March 29, 2023, as Vaccine Awareness and Advocacy Day at the State Capitol.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-27 - Filed [HR801 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HR801-Introduced.html

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88R20110 BPG-D
By: A. Johnson of Harris H.R. No. 801

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.