Bill Text: NY J00968 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim August 2021, as Immunization Awareness Month in the State of New York

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-06-02 - ADOPTED [J00968 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-J00968-Introduced.html

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Senate Resolution No. 968

BY: Senator RIVERA

        MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim
        August  2021, 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  2021,  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  2021, 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.