Proclamation 6675

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

One of my Georgetown University professors, Otto Hentz, S.J., has written, "There is no greater gesture of trust than when children expectantly thrust their arms up in the air, telling us in the universal language of toddlers, 'Pick me up.' And when we follow this command, we witness the complete serenity of children, their perfect trust that they will not be dropped. This is an astonishing vote of confidence...."

To guarantee that our children's faith in us is justified, we must renew our commitment to protect them from deadly infectious diseases. Unfortunately, less than two-thirds of American children under age 2 have received all the immunizations they need. In some inner city and rural areas, vaccination rates are much lower than in more urban communities. The unnecessary illnesses resulting from this failure are a health disaster and a human tragedy.

To prevent suffering and to save lives, my Administration has taken new steps to protect our youngest children. In April 1993, I submitted to the Congress the "Comprehensive Child Immunization Act," significant portions of which were enacted into law last year. In addition, our Childhood Immunization Initiative is the most sweeping childhood immunization plan in American history. This proposal includes free vaccines for needy children, increased funding to cities and States to improve the service delivery infrastructure, enhanced disease detection and immunization monitoring systems, and an aggressive national outreach program.

This Initiative will mobilize every community to practice disease prevention on a grand scale. It will allow us to increase vaccination levels for 2-year-old children from the current 64 percent to at least 90 percent and to build a vaccine delivery system that will maintain these achievements within a reformed health care system.

Adults responsible for safeguarding our youngest children must be made aware of the seriousness of this problem. Many parents do not realize that more than 80 percent of all recommended vaccinations should be given before a child is 2 years old-long before he or she begins school. We must make sure that every parent is informed that between the ages of 2 months and 2 years of age their children will require five visits to a doctor or clinic to assure their proper immunization. Doctors must also help by educating the public about the importance of immunizations and by making sure that the children under their care are monitored carefully to ensure full protection.

Last year, I proclaimed the last week of April as National Preschool Immunization Week. This year, as part of the effort to focus greater attention on the need to immunize children before their second birthday, I have changed the name of the observance to National Infant Immunization Week.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim the last full week of April 1994 and in all succeeding years as National Infant Immunization Week. I call upon all Americans, especially parents and health care providers, to do their part to help in this crucial effort and to observe this week annually with appropriate activities and recognition ceremonies.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eighteenth.

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:30 p.m., April 20, 1994]