[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1619 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1619
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national
campaign to raise awareness of the importance of, and combat
misinformation about, vaccines in order to increase vaccination rates.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 22, 2019
Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Roberts, and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a national
campaign to raise awareness of the importance of, and combat
misinformation about, vaccines in order to increase vaccination rates.
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''.
SEC. 2. IMPROVING AWARENESS OF DISEASE PREVENTION.
The Public Health Service Act is amended by striking section 313 of
such Act (42 U.S.C. 245) and inserting the following:
``SEC. 313. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN ON THE IMPORTANCE OF
VACCINATIONS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Director of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in coordination with
other offices and agencies, as appropriate, shall award competitive
grants to one or more public or private entities to carry out a
national, evidence-based campaign to increase awareness of vaccines for
the prevention and control of diseases, combat misinformation about
vaccines, and disseminate scientific and evidence-based, vaccine-
related information, with the goal of increasing rates of vaccination
across all ages, as applicable, particularly in communities with low
rates of vaccination.
``(b) Consultation.--In carrying out the campaign under this
section, the Secretary shall consult with appropriate public health and
medical experts, including the National Academy of Medicine and medical
and public health associations and nonprofit organizations, in the
development, implementation, and evaluation of the evidence-based
public awareness campaign.
``(c) Requirements.--The campaign under this section--
``(1) shall be a national, evidence-based initiative;
``(2) may include the use of television, radio, the
internet, and other telecommunications technologies;
``(3) may be focused to address specific needs of
communities with low vaccination rates;
``(4) shall include the development of resources for
communities with low vaccination rates, including culturally
and linguistically appropriate resources, as applicable;
``(5) shall include the dissemination of vaccine
information and communication resources to health care
providers and health care facilities, including such providers
and facilities that provide prenatal and pediatric care;
``(6) shall be complementary to, and coordinated with, any
other Federal efforts and State efforts, as appropriate;
``(7) shall assess the effectiveness of communication
strategies to increase vaccination rates; and
``(8) may include the dissemination of scientific and
evidence-based vaccine-related information, such as--
``(A) advancements in evidence-based research
related to diseases that may be prevented by vaccines
and vaccine development;
``(B) information on vaccinations for individuals
and communities, including individuals for whom
vaccines are not recommended by the Advisory Committee
for Immunization Practices, and the effects of low
vaccination rates within a community on such
individuals;
``(C) information on diseases that may be prevented
by vaccines; and
``(D) information on vaccine safety and the systems
in place to monitor vaccine safety.
``(d) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall--
``(1) establish benchmarks and metrics to quantitatively
measure and evaluate the awareness campaign under this section;
``(2) conduct qualitative assessments regarding the
awareness campaign under this section; and
``(3) prepare and submit to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and Committee on
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives an
evaluation of the awareness campaign under this section.
``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section and section 317(k) such sums as
may be necessary for fiscal years 2020 through 2024.''.
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO ADDRESS VACCINE-PREVENTABLE DISEASES.
Section 317(k)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
247b(k)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period and
inserting a semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(E) planning, implementation, and evaluation of
activities to address vaccine-preventable diseases, including
activities to--
``(i) identify communities at high risk of
outbreaks related to vaccine-preventable diseases;
``(ii) pilot innovative approaches to improve
vaccination rates in communities with low rates of
vaccination;
``(iii) reduce barriers to accessing vaccines and
evidence-based information about the health effects of
vaccines;
``(iv) partner with community organizations and
health care providers to develop and deliver evidence-
based interventions to increase vaccination rates; and
``(v) improve delivery of evidence-based vaccine-
related information to parents and others; and
``(F) research related to strategies for improving
awareness of scientific and evidence-based, vaccine-related
information, including for communities with low vaccination
rates, in order to understand barriers to vaccination, improve
vaccination rates, and assess the public health outcomes of
such strategies.''.
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