THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	202
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO REVIEW THE STATE'S VACCINATION REQUIREMENTS AND determine whether vaccination for pneumococcal disease for children entering child care should be added to the current list of required vaccinations.

     WHEREAS, Hawaii law requires children to meet physical examination and immunization requirements before attending any public school or child care facility in the State; and

WHEREAS, vaccinations are required for all children entering day care, preschool, kindergarten, and seventh grade, and for students entering school in Hawaii for the first time, regardless of age; and

WHEREAS, vaccination requirements for child care, day care, Head Start, and preschool include vaccinations for diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis, polio, measles, mumps, and rubella, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and varicella (chicken pox); and

WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there has been a one hundred thirty-eight per cent increase in the incidence of pneumococcal disease in Hawaii between 1999 and 2003; and

WHEREAS, invasive pneumococcal disease is a group of life-threatening infections caused by the bacterium streptococcus pneumoniae, and includes bacterial meningitis, bacteremia, sepsis and bacteremic pneumonia; and

WHEREAS, vaccines remain the best defense available today against infectious diseases; and

WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that although safe and efficacious vaccines are now available, thousands of children die or are hospitalized each year from vaccine-preventable diseases; and

WHEREAS, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians submit a list of recommended general vaccinations to the State; and

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, the list of recommended vaccinations has not been amended in the past four years; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health is requested to review its current immunization program and determine whether vaccination for pneumococcal disease for children entering child care should be added to the current list of required vaccinations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to report its findings, recommendations, and actions to update the State's vaccination entry requirements for child care, including any necessary proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2008; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, the President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the President and the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Vaccination Policy; Children Entering Child Care; DOT Review