Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0291

HR0291 LRB104 13274 MST 25499 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Children by the age of 24 months are recommended to receive vaccinations that protect them against 15 potentially serious and deadly illnesses; vaccine coverage among children aged 24 months and born in 2020 and 2021 is lower compared to those born in 2018 and 2019; and

WHEREAS, Children without insurance and those covered by Medicaid or other public insurance have lower vaccine rates than children covered only by private insurance; there are gaps in vaccine coverage by race and ethnicity, household income, and in rural versus urban areas; and

WHEREAS, Fewer people receiving the recommended childhood immunizations can lead to the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, pertussis, varicella, and rotavirus and their associated illness and death; and

WHEREAS, There are vaccination requirements for enrollment in public and private schools, child care facilities, and pre-kindergarten programs; data is collected annually on the number of children in kindergarten who meet, are exempt from, or are in the process of meeting school immunization requirements; and

WHEREAS, Medical and religious exemptions from school immunization requirements are available; under the McKinney-Vento Act, temporary enrollment for students who need additional time to submit documentation or need more time to receive their immunizations is permissible; and

WHEREAS, Coverage of all school-required immunizations in Illinois has declined for the 2023/2024 school year; coverage of many vaccines is below the community immunity threshold leaving school communities without this protection; and

WHEREAS, In Illinois, there were 12,667 religious exemptions for school immunizations for the 2022/2023 school year; this increased to 15,339 for the 2023/2024 school year, the largest number of religious exemptions in Illinois in over 10 years; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the implementation of interventions to support vaccine uptake and reduce disparities in vaccine coverage to ensure children are protected from vaccine-preventable diseases; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Department of Health, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to work with pediatricians, clinicians, families, and other stakeholders to ensure infants and children are vaccinated on time and students begin school fully vaccinated; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Department of Health, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services to continue to invest in immunization initiatives and infrastructure to ensure timely reporting of vaccine coverage to ensure children are protected from vaccine-preventable illness in public and private schools, child care facilities, and pre-kindergarten programs and beyond.