[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 18251]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               URGING SUPPORT FOR THE THRIVE ACT OF 2005

  (Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, 45,000 adult Americans die every year 
from infectious diseases that could have been prevented by a simple 
vaccination. Tragically, 40 percent of adults in our country are 
underimmunized for preventable diseases such as influenza and hepatitis 
B. The consequences are unnecessary pain, suffering, and loss of life 
at a cost of more than $10 billion a year to society.
  To address this tragedy, I am introducing the THRIVE Act of 2005 with 
the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) as part of National 
Immunization Month. The THRIVE Act authorizes CDC to develop 
immunization guidelines and increase patient outreach and provider 
outreach. It directs the Secretary of HHS to launch a national media 
campaign about the value of adult immunizations, and it establishes a 
pilot project to distribute influenza vaccine for uninsured, at-risk 
adults.
  The THRIVE Act of 2005 is a critical step towards reducing vaccine-
preventable deaths in our country, and I urge my colleagues to support 
this bill.

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