Bipartisan lawmakers introduce resolution supporting vaccines

House lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a bipartisan resolution in support of vaccines amid an uptick in measles outbreaks across the country.

The Vaccines Save Lives Resolution — spearheaded by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Michael Burgess (R-Texas) — calls on Congress to reject “unfounded and debunked theories” that vaccines are dangerous and encourages educating the public using scientifically proven research on their benefits.

The lawmakers urged adults to vaccinate their children and prevent unnecessary outbreaks of potentially fatal diseases.

{mosads}“As a physician, I am grateful for their immense value and lifesaving potential,” Burgess said in a statement. “In the 21st century, Congress should be focused on investing in vaccines’ further development as safe and effective tools to protect Americans and people around the world from preventable suffering.”

The resolution says an “estimated 43,000 adults and 300 children die annually” from diseases from complications that could have been prevented through immunizations.

“The scientific and medical communities agree — vaccines are both safe and effective and there is no evidence to suggest that vaccines cause life-threatening or disabling diseases,” Schiff said in a statement. “Vaccines have saved millions of lives worldwide and prevented suffering for millions more. The importance of vaccinating your children, especially given the recent outbreak of preventable diseases, cannot be overstated.”

The resolution’s introduction comes as health experts have attributed the increased outbreaks to parents who are forgoing vaccinations for their children.

Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) are expected to introduce a companion measure in the upper chamber.

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday held a hearing on the benefits of vaccines, which included the testimony of a teen who got vaccinated against his parents’ wishes.