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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RECOGNIZING AUGUST AS NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION AWARENESS MONTH IN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) is an annual observance held in August to highlight the importance of vaccination for people of all ages; and
WHEREAS, communities across the country use the month each year to raise awareness about the important role vaccines play in preventing serious, sometimes deadly, diseases across a lifespan; and
WHEREAS, immunization isn’t just for kids; to stay protected against serious illnesses like the flu, measles, and pneumonia, adults also need to get vaccinated; and
WHEREAS, National Immunization Awareness Month is a great time to promote vaccines and remind family, friends, and coworkers to stay up to date on their shots; and
WHEREAS, thanks to vaccines, we can protect young infants against preventable life-threatening diseases such as whooping cough and pregnant women can pass on protection to their newborns by getting vaccinated during the third trimester of their pregnancy; and
WHEREAS, whooping cough is just one of several vaccine-preventable diseases that threaten Americans, as outbreaks continue to occur, and many vaccine-preventable diseases remain common; and
WHEREAS, in addition to saving lives, vaccines provide major cost savings by preventing serious infectious diseases, and prevent us from spending large amounts of money on treating them; and
WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), for every $1 spent on childhood vaccinations, our country saves $10.10 and vaccines given to children born between 1994-2016 will prevent an estimated 381 million illnesses, 24.5 million hospitalizations, 855,000 deaths, and $1.65 trillion in total societal costs; and
WHEREAS, as the operator of one of the largest Public Health Systems in the country, Cook County Government and our health system bears a large portion of the economic burden of treating preventable diseases, for example the Minnesota outbreak of measles took three months to contain at a cost of $1.3 million to Hennepin County and the State Department of Health; and
WHEREAS vaccines are safe, effective and the best protection against these diseases, from infancy to early adulthood and into old age, and by getting vaccinated, we not only protect ourselves, we help stop the spread of disease to our children, families and communities; however, for vaccines to be most effective, vaccination rates must remain high; and
WHEREAS, unfortunately, continuing disease outbreaks across the U.S. remain a public health concern, and lack of access to vaccines, combined with people who are not taking full advantage of opportunities to protect themselves, their families, and their communities, leaves people susceptible to preventable diseases; and
WHEREAS, two decades ago, measles was declared eliminated in the U.S., yet in the first five months of this year, the CDC recorded 1,000 cases, more than occurred from 2000 to 2010 combined; and
WHEREAS, the explanation for measles’ return is simply that fewer Americans are receiving vaccines; Since the turn of the century, the share of American children under the age of 2 who go unvaccinated has quadrupled, and a growing number of American parents are refusing vaccines and as a result we are welcoming back a disease that decades ago killed hundreds of people a year and hospitalized close to 50,000; and
WHEREAS, part of the problem is a collective forgetting of the devastation caused by diseases such as smallpox and polio that extinguished many lives and disfigured bodies and so we must remain vigilant and continue to educate our residents on the importance of vaccination; and
WHEREAS, this Honorable Body wishes to promote and raise awareness of National Immunization Awareness Month in Cook County;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the more than 5.2 million residents of Cook County, do hereby take this opportunity to acknowledge National Immunization Awareness Month; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that in conjunction with National Immunization Awareness Month, that the month of August be hereby declared Immunization Awareness Month in the County of Cook, and encourages everyone to remind their family, friends, and coworkers to stay up to date on their shots; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution be spread upon the official proceeding of this Honorable Body in recognition of National Immunization Awareness Month.
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