Full Text of HR1165 096th General Assembly
HR1165 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The Illinois House of Representatives finds that | 3 |
| influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by the | 4 |
| influenza virus; and
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| WHEREAS, The best way to help prevent seasonal influenza is | 6 |
| by getting an influenza vaccination each year; and
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| WHEREAS, Every year in the United States, an average of | 8 |
| more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from | 9 |
| influenza-related complications and approximately 36,000 | 10 |
| people, most of whom are elderly, die from influenza-related | 11 |
| causes; and
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| WHEREAS, While influenza viruses can cause illness in | 13 |
| people of any age group, children are most likely to get sick | 14 |
| because their immune systems aren't strong enough to fight off | 15 |
| the infection; children and young adults ages 5 to 19 are 3 to | 16 |
| 4 times more likely to be infected with influenza than adults; | 17 |
| school-aged children are the population group most responsible | 18 |
| for transmission of contagious respiratory viruses, including | 19 |
| influenza; and
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| WHEREAS, The elderly make up the population that is most | 21 |
| vulnerable to severe illness from influenza, due to weaker |
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| immune responses to vaccination; and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and | 3 |
| Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices | 4 |
| recently began recommending universal routine seasonal | 5 |
| influenza vaccination for all persons aged 6 months of age and | 6 |
| older; and
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| WHEREAS, School-based vaccination programs have been | 8 |
| documented to be an effective way to vaccinate children while | 9 |
| reducing transmission and infection rates to the large | 10 |
| community, while at the same time reducing rates of school | 11 |
| absenteeism due to children being infected with influenza; and
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| WHEREAS, Increasing the focus on providing influenza | 13 |
| vaccine to children targeted for immunization will also help | 14 |
| efforts to build a sound foundation for future vaccination | 15 |
| efforts; and
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| WHEREAS, Schools can be an effective infrastructure tool to | 17 |
| improve pandemic planning by developing collaborations and | 18 |
| enhancing partnerships between local health departments, | 19 |
| schools, and other community health partners, so that those | 20 |
| collaborations can be utilized to help facilitate mass | 21 |
| immunization during a pandemic outbreak; and |
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| WHEREAS, Although experience has demonstrated the | 2 |
| feasibility and success of school-based influenza vaccination | 3 |
| programs in vaccinating school-age children, the Illinois | 4 |
| House of Representatives is aware that funding and logistical | 5 |
| considerations, particularly involving the procurement and | 6 |
| delivery of vaccine to children with private health insurance | 7 |
| coverage, continue to present issues of program | 8 |
| sustainability; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 10 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 11 |
| support school-based influenza mass vaccination collaborations | 12 |
| among local health departments and elementary and secondary | 13 |
| schools in their jurisdictions for the purpose of vaccinating | 14 |
| school-age children against influenza in accordance with the | 15 |
| recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and | 16 |
| Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for | 17 |
| the annual vaccination of all school-age children 5 through 18 | 18 |
| years of age; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That these programs through coordination with | 20 |
| local health departments, school nurses, school health care | 21 |
| programs, and other local entities shall be voluntary for all | 22 |
| participants; the influenza vaccination shall be administered | 23 |
| only with the consent of the student's parent or legal | 24 |
| guardian; and be it further |
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| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution shall be | 2 |
| presented to the Illinois Department of Public Health and the | 3 |
| Illinois State Board of Education.
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