Senate Resolution No. 211 BY: Senator PERSAUD MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim April 24-30, 2023, as Immunization Week in the State of New York WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to promote the health and welfare of all New Yorkers; and WHEREAS, Vaccines are one of the greatest achievements of modern civilization, preventing the spread of life-threatening diseases and the deaths of more than two million people each year according to the World Health Organization; and WHEREAS, The discovery of vaccines for polio and smallpox changed the course of world history and allowed for the eradication of diseases long thought to be unavoidable and uncontrollable; and WHEREAS, Immunization protects against diseases that are historically some of the most virulent killers of children under five years old, including pneumonia and rotavirus diarrhea; and WHEREAS, Vaccines also protect children, adolescents, and adults against the flu, meningitis, cervical cancer caused by human papilloma virus, liver cancer, diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, pertussis, rubella, tetanus, and other harmful diseases; and WHEREAS, According to the World Health Organization, up to 1.5 million children around the world still die each year from diseases which could have been prevented with a simple vaccine; and WHEREAS, There has been a recent outbreak of measles and whooping cough in different parts of the United States, including New York, in part due to misinformation regarding the safety and effectiveness of the vaccinations that prevent these diseases; and WHEREAS, This Legislative Body should use every measure at its disposal to promote the health of our children and the use of vaccines to accomplish this crucial public health goal; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim April 24-30, 2023, as Immunization Week in the State of New York; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New York.