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HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Adult vaccines reduce the burden of widespread
3disease and enable individuals to live longer, healthier, and
4more productive lives; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Despite vaccine recommendations made by the
6United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
7and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP),
8many adults do not receive all recommended vaccines; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Vaccine-preventable diseases cause long-term
10illness, hospitalization, and death; the CDC estimates that,
11since 2010, influenza-related hospitalizations in the U.S.
12have ranged from 140,000 to 710,000 and influenza-related
13deaths have ranged from 12,000 to 56,000; further, roughly
14150,000 people are hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia,
15and 5 to 7% of those individuals die each year; for individuals
1665 years of age and older, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
17can lead to as many as 160,000 hospitalizations and 10,000
18deaths in the U.S. each year; an estimated 880,000 to 1.89
19million people in the U.S. have chronic hepatitis B, which can
20cause serious health problems, including liver damage,
21cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death; finally, human
22papillomavirus (HPV) causes over 37,000 cancers in women and
23men each year, and approximately 4,000 women die each year

 

 

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1from cervical cancer; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The U.S. annually spends more than $21 billion
3treating adults 50 years of age and older for influenza and
4pneumococcal disease, both of which are vaccine-preventable;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, Influenza, like many vaccine-preventable
7diseases, also contributes to workplace productivity loss; a
8typical, full-time employee may lose up to 3.5 workdays due to
9absenteeism and presenteeism from an influenza infection; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Despite the burden and consequences of
11vaccine-preventable diseases, adult vaccination rates remain
12low in the U.S. and far below national targets; in 2021,
13pneumococcal vaccine coverage among adults 65 years of age and
14older was 65.8%; similar trends were seen with hepatitis B
15vaccination coverage, with only 34.2% of adults 19 years of
16age and older receiving a hepatitis B vaccine; and
 
17    WHEREAS, As a result of low vaccination rates, adults
18experience higher rates of morbidity and mortality from
19vaccine-preventable diseases; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Furthermore, racial and ethnic minority
21populations report consistently lower rates of immunization

 

 

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1than white individuals; for example, in the U.S., the shingles
2vaccination rate was 35.5% among non-Hispanic white adults and
319.9% among non-Hispanic Black/African American adults;
4additionally, less than 43% of Black/African American,
5Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native adults received an
6influenza vaccine for the 2021-2022 season compared to 54% of
7white adults; this is attributable in part to decreased
8vaccine awareness and suboptimal knowledge of vaccination
9schedules; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Reported adult vaccination rates are often lower
11in rural communities than in urban settings; for example, the
12CDC reports rural counties had first-dose COVID-19 vaccination
13coverage of 58.5% compared to 75.4% in urban counties between
14December 2020 and January 2022; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Providing targeted education and awareness of
16adult vaccinations among racial and ethnic minority
17populations in the State through evidence-based strategies can
18increase uptake; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Supporting access to vaccines is a necessary
20public health tool that will protect individuals from
21vaccine-preventable diseases; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Provisions of the federal Inflation Reduction Act

 

 

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1expanded access to vaccine coverage without cost-sharing; the
2law removed cost-sharing for vaccines covered under Medicare
3Part D in January 2023 and mandated coverage for all
4ACIP-recommended vaccines administered to adults covered by
5traditional Medicaid in October 2023; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Developing a state immunization strategy focused
7on adults may assist in reducing the impact of disruptions to
8adult routine vaccines, decreasing preventable healthcare
9utilization and burden, reducing absenteeism due to illness,
10and helping protect populations from vaccine-preventable
11diseases; therefore, be it
 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
13HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
14we urge the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to
15continue taking appropriate action to facilitate equitable
16access to adolescent and adult vaccinations, including
17establishing appropriate programs and initiatives to raise
18public awareness on the importance of adolescent and adult
19vaccinations; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That we urge the IDPH to continue working with
21the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), in-state healthcare
22providers, and patients to implement an effective and
23actionable state immunization strategy that includes adult

 

 

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1immunizations, which will align stakeholders on shared
2objectives and efforts to facilitate broad vaccine
3availability and access and provide greater clarity to
4patients and providers on age-appropriate options; and be it
5further
 
6    RESOLVED, That we urge the IDPH to continue increasing
7community resilience to communicable and other emerging
8disease threats; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That we urge the IDPH to continue determining
10goals on which to center the immunization plan, and these
11goals may include but are not limited to strengthening adult
12and adolescent immunization infrastructure, improving access,
13assessing vaccine administration fees, increasing community
14demand, lowering vaccine hesitancy, and promoting health
15equity initiatives to improve uptake; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That we urge the IDPH to continue exploring
17federal funding opportunities and partnerships to support
18vaccine awareness and access programs aligned with the goals
19established in the state immunization strategy; and be it
20further
 
21    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22delivered to the Director of the Illinois Department of Public

 

 

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1Health.