THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

37

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE RESOLUTION

 

requesting the governor to DEclare 2004 as THE "YEAR OF POLIO AWARENESS" in hawaii.

 

WHEREAS, 2004 is the 50th anniversary of the development of the polio vaccine; and

WHEREAS, as many as 50 percent of American children are believed to not have received all doses of the polio vaccine; and

WHEREAS, the polio vaccination rate in Hawaii in 2003 was below the national average, demonstrating that there is a need in Hawaii to promote vaccination; and

WHEREAS, the success of the polio vaccine has resulted in complacency and has caused people to forget the 1,600,000 polio survivors in America who were born before the development of the vaccine, and who had polio during the epidemics in the mid-20th Century; and

WHEREAS, of the 20,000,000 polio survivors throughout the world, approximately 75 per cent had paralytic polio and 40 per cent had "non-paralytic" polio; they are now experiencing Post Polio Syndrome, the unexpected and often disabling symptoms that can occur about 35 years after the poliovirus attack, including fatigue, pain, new weakness, cold sensitivity, swallowing problems, and breathing problems; and

WHEREAS, many health care professionals and polio survivors are not aware of the existence of Post Polio Syndrome, or of available treatments; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, that the Legislature hereby requests the Governor to declare 2004 as "The Year of Polio Awareness" in Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, Dean of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, President of the Hawaii Chapter of the March of Dimes, President of the Hawaii Medical Association, and President of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Year of Polio Awareness