[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 94 (Wednesday, June 20, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1091]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING WILLIAM FOEGE, RECIPIENT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF 
                                FREEDOM

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                            HON. ADAM SMITH

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 20, 2012

  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor William Foege 
for receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom for developing a 
strategy for immunizing people against, and eventually eradicating, 
small pox. This award is our nation's highest civilian honor and is 
presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the 
United States.
  Mr. Foege, a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University and the 
University of Washington School of Medicine, was instrumental in 
developing the plan to eradicate smallpox. While serving as a 
missionary in Nigeria where we gave vaccines to the locals, Mr. Foege 
experienced a critical vaccine shortage. In order to be most effective, 
he started actively seeking out infected people, using photos and 
rewards to draw people in and immunizing anyone who had come in contact 
with those suffering from smallpox.
  The immunization strategy Mr. Foege developed became known as 
``surveillance and containment.'' It is widely credited for the 
eradication of smallpox, which is often deadly especially in developing 
countries. For example, while using this technique in India during the 
1970s, Mr. Foege and his colleagues found 11,000 cases of smallpox and 
within a week delivered immunizations to those infected people.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues in the House of Representatives 
please join me in honoring William Foege for his dedication to 
effectively delivering immunizations to the world's most at risk 
populations and for being instrumental in the eradication of smallpox.

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