[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 206 (Tuesday, November 30, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1284-E1285]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SUPPORTING H.R. 951, THE MATERNAL VACCINATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 30, 2021

  Ms. SEWELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 951, the 
Maternal Vaccination Act. The pandemic has laid bare the historical 
inequities that exist in our health care system for Black Americans, 
especially for Black parents. My constituency is painfully aware of the 
pervasive, systemic and institutional influences that have contributed 
to these disparities.
  And let's be clear, these disparities have only been exacerbated by 
the pandemic, which is why me and my colleagues have been so adamant in 
the inclusion of policies to end our nation's maternal mortality crisis 
and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health 
outcomes.
  As we are almost two years into a global pandemic that has 
disproportionately harmed communities of color, the risks facing Black 
women and other birthing people of color are at a crisis point. Any 
legislative proposal that will successfully and meaningfully address 
the pandemic's impact on people of color must directly address the 
effects of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) on pregnant people 
and new moms.
  As many of us know, the United States has the highest maternal 
mortality rate of any high-income country and the only rate that is 
rising. The pregnancy-related mortality rate for Black women in the 
U.S. is three to four times higher than the rate for white women, and 
other women and birthing people of color also face elevated rates of 
mortality and morbidity.
  The risks for pregnant people have only grown during COVID-19: 
according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ``pregnant 
and recently pregnant women are at an increased risk for severe illness 
from COVID-19 compared to nonpregnant women.'' The CDC also found that 
pregnant people with COVID-19 are at an increased risk for adverse 
pregnancy outcomes. In addition to clinical risks, the pandemic has 
affected social determinants of health that contribute to maternal 
health disparities, like increased food insecurity, which 
disproportionately impacts Black and Hispanic families.
  Without bold and immediate action to address the heightened clinical 
and non-clinical threats to pregnant people and their growing families, 
our national recovery from COVID-19 will only exacerbate the inequities 
that existed before the pandemic and worsened over the past year.
  Recognizing the urgent need to address these alarming trends, 
President Biden's American Families Plan includes a much-

[[Page E1285]]

needed $3 billion investment in maternal health. The President's 
proposal provides an opportunity to make considerable investments in 
federal funding to address this crisis, including policies included in 
the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021 and a permanent 
expansion of yearlong postpartum Medicaid coverage. By advancing these 
two priorities in the recent recovery package, we comprehensively 
addressed every driver of our nation's maternal health crisis.
  The Momnibus includes investments that will be needed during and 
after the COVID-19 pandemic, including investments in community-based 
organizations, policies to grow and diversify the perinatal workforce, 
expanded access to maternal mental health care treatments and support, 
measures to address the impacts of climate change on maternal and 
infant health outcomes, and provisions to protect pregnant people 
during this pandemic and any future public health emergency.
  My bill, the Maternal Vaccination Act or H.R. 951, directly addresses 
the health of both moms and babies. This bill is critically important 
because although we know that maternal vaccinations are important for 
the health of moms and babies, only half of pregnant people get their 
flu vaccines and less than half get Tdap vaccinations to protect 
against pertussis.
  With pertussis on the rise and outbreaks occurring across the United 
States, we need to invest in initiatives to promote maternal 
immunizations and address racial and ethnic disparities in maternal 
vaccination rates. Even though, white adults have higher vaccination 
coverage than Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American adults, there 
is more that can be done to close this gap.
  I was proud to author the Maternal Vaccination Act because it 
provides funding for programs to increase maternal vaccination rates, 
protecting both new moms and their babies.
  Specifically, the Maternal Vaccination Act will provide funding for a 
public and provider awareness campaign to promote maternal and child 
vaccinations. This includes initiatives to increase awareness about the 
safety, importance, and effectiveness of vaccines for pregnant and 
postpartum people and their children; provide targeted, evidence-based, 
culturally and linguistically appropriate resources about vaccines to 
pregnant and postpartum people, particularly in communities with 
historically low vaccination rates; and provide evidence-based 
information and resources on the safety and importance of maternal and 
child vaccinations to public health departments, maternal health care 
providers, and perinatal health workers.
  This bill, like the Build Back Better Act legislation, will provide 
historic investments from the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act to 
save moms' lives, end racial and ethnic maternal health disparities, 
and advance birth equity across the United States.

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