[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2862 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2862
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national system
for surveillance of vaccine rates, to authorize research on vaccine
hesitancy, to increase public understanding of the benefits of
immunizations, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 21, 2019
Ms. Schrier (for herself, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Engel, Mr. Guthrie, Mr.
Schrader, and Mr. Bilirakis) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national system
for surveillance of vaccine rates, to authorize research on vaccine
hesitancy, to increase public understanding of the benefits of
immunizations, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Vaccine Awareness Campaign to
Champion Immunization Nationally and Enhance Safety Act of 2019'' or
the ``VACCINES Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. VACCINE SURVEILLANCE AND RESEARCH.
(a) In General.--Section 317 of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 247b) is amended by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(n) Vaccine Surveillance and Research.--
``(1) Surveillance.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary, acting through
the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, and in consultation with the National
Vaccine Advisory Committee and the Director of the
National Vaccine Program, shall develop and deploy a
national system for surveillance of vaccination rates.
``(B) Authorized activities.--The surveillance
system under subparagraph (A) may include the
following:
``(i) Use of immunization data available to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and its contractors.
``(ii) Integration of data from existing
systems--
``(I) to measure vaccination
confidence over time;
``(II) to understand variations
across time and geography; and
``(III) to measure vaccine refusal.
``(C) Use of data.--The Secretary may use data
collected pursuant to the surveillance system under
subparagraph (A) to predict and identify areas and
communities where--
``(i) vaccines are or will be
underutilized;
``(ii) vaccine confidence is low or
decreasing; or
``(iii) misinformation about the safety of
vaccines, not supported by scientific or
medical evidence, has been directed in a
targeted manner.
``(D) Consultation.--In developing the surveillance
system under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall
consult with the National Academies to synthesize
existing evidence and develop a standardized
measurement of vaccine confidence.
``(E) Funding.--There are authorized to be
appropriated $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020
through 2024 to carry out this paragraph.
``(2) Grants for research.--The Secretary may award grants
for research--
``(A) to improve the understanding of vaccine
hesitancy;
``(B) to improve understanding of health care
provider attitudes and beliefs toward vaccination; and
``(C) to develop effective strategies for
addressing non-adherence to the safe and recommended
use of vaccines and encouraging the safe and
recommended use of vaccines.''.
(b) Update of 2015 NVAC Report.--The National Vaccine Advisory
Committee shall--
(1) assess the state of vaccine confidence in the United
States; and
(2) update the findings and recommendations in the report
on this topic approved by the National Vaccine Advisory
Committee on June 10, 2015.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ON THE IMPORTANCE OF VACCINATIONS.
Section 317 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b), as
amended by section 3, is further amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
``(o) Public Awareness Campaign on the Importance of
Vaccinations.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
shall carry out a national campaign to increase awareness of
the importance of, combat misinformation about, and increase
rates of, vaccinations across the lifespan.
``(2) Consultation.--In carrying out the campaign under
this subsection, the Secretary shall consult with the National
Academy of Medicine and nationally recognized private entities,
including medical and public health associations and nonprofit
organizations, to solicit advice on evidence-based information
for policy development and program development, implementation,
and evaluation.
``(3) Requirements.--The campaign under this subsection--
``(A) shall be an evidence-based media and public
engagement initiative;
``(B) shall be carried out through competitively
bid contracts awarded to one or more public or private
entities;
``(C) may include the use of television, radio,
print, the internet, and other commercial marketing
venues;
``(D) may include the use of in-person public
communications;
``(E) may be targeted to--
``(i) specific groups and local needs of
communities with high rates of unvaccinated
individuals; or
``(ii) areas or communities identified
pursuant to subsection (n)(1)(C);
``(F) shall include the development of culturally
and linguistically competent resources that may be
tailored for communities with high rates of
unvaccinated individuals;
``(G) shall include the dissemination of vaccine
information and vaccine communication resources to
health care providers and health care facilities,
including pharmacists, State and local public health
departments, and health care providers and facilities
that provide prenatal and pediatric care;
``(H) may include the use of recognized trusted
figures;
``(I) shall be complementary to, and coordinated
with, any other Federal efforts;
``(J) shall include message testing to identify
culturally competent and effective messages for
behavioral change;
``(K) may include the dissemination of information
highlighting--
``(i) advancements in research and vaccine
development that have saved millions of
individuals from death and disability from now-
preventable diseases;
``(ii) information on how individuals
across the lifespan benefit from immunizations,
including those who cannot be vaccinated and
rely on community immunity;
``(iii) information on the dangers of not
being vaccinated, including the potential for
infectious disease outbreaks within
communities; and
``(iv) information on vaccine safety and
the systems in place to monitor vaccine safety;
``(L) shall include the award of grants to State,
local, and tribal public health departments--
``(i) to identify and prioritize engagement
with communities with high rates of
unvaccinated individuals;
``(ii) to engage communities with high
rates of unvaccinated individuals in
understanding the challenges to increasing
vaccination rates in the respective communities
and developing effective strategies (including
through formative research or focus groups) to
increase such rates; and
``(iii) to encourage partnerships with
community organizations and health care
providers to develop and deliver evidence based
interventions to increase vaccination rates;
and
``(M) may include the development and dissemination
of evidence-based scientific curricula for use in
public elementary schools and secondary schools (as
defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965) on infectious disease outbreaks
and how they can be prevented and controlled.
``(4) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall--
``(A) establish baseline measures and benchmarks to
quantitatively evaluate the impact of the campaign
under this subsection;
``(B) conduct qualitative assessments regarding the
effectiveness of strategies employed under this
subsection; and
``(C) prepare and submit to the Committee on Energy
and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of
the Senate an evaluation of the campaign.
``(5) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated
$6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024 to carry
out this subsection.''.
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