Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 102 Part 4.djvu/70

 102 STAT. 3040

PUBLIC LAW 100-603—NOV. 3, 1988

Public Law 100-603 100th Congress Joint Resolution Nov. 3, 1988 [S.J. Res. 335]

To designate the last full week of October, October 23 through October 29, 1988, as "National Adult Immunization Awareness Week".

Whereas the Surgeon General of the United States has declared as a major health initiative the reduction of vaccine-preventable death and disease among adults in the United States; Whereas the reduction of these infectious diseases could save as many as 70,000 lives annually and more than $1 billion in direct costs annually; Whereas the Surgeon General has declared the goal of immunizing 60 percent of America's elderly and chronically ill against influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia, yet only 18 percent of susceptible adults are immunized against influenza and 10 percent against pneumococcal pneumonia; Whereas hepatitis B has grown to epidemic proportions in this country despite the availability of a highly effective vaccine; Whereas childhood diseases like measles and mumps are on the rise among young adults; Whereas newborn infants in America are at risk of congenital deformities or death because 9-15 percent of women of childbearing age are not adequately protected against rubella; Whereas the Congress has authorized through the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1987 a $25 million-a-year demonstration project to prove the cost-effectiveness of influenza vaccinations among Medicare recipients; Whereas efforts should be made to alert Medicare participants to enroll in this project; Whereas public awareness in the field of adult immunization has been conducted primarily by the voluntary sector; and Whereas the Congress and the President have consistently declared the last week of October as "National Adult Immunization Awareness Week": Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the last full week of October, October 23 through October 29, 1988, is designated as

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