[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 267 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. RES. 267
Designating 2004 as ``The Year of Polio Awareness''.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 18, 2003
Mr. Specter submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Designating 2004 as ``The Year of Polio Awareness''.
Whereas 2004 is the 50th anniversary of the successful nationwide trial of the
injectable killed polio vaccine that included ``polio pioneer''
children;
Whereas the injectable polio vaccines eliminated naturally occurring polio cases
in the United States but have not yet eliminated polio in other parts of
the world;
Whereas as few as 57 percent of American children receive all doses of necessary
vaccines during childhood, including the polio vaccine;
Whereas the success of the polio vaccines has caused people to forget the
1,630,000 Americans born before the development of the vaccines who had
polio during the epidemics in the middle of the 20th century;
Whereas at least 70 percent of paralytic polio survivors, and 40 percent of
nonparalytic polio survivors, are developing post-polio sequelae, which
are unexpected and often disabling symptoms that occur up to 35 years
after the poliovirus attack, including overwhelming fatigue, muscle
weakness, muscle and joint pain, sleep disorders, heightened sensitivity
to anesthesia, cold pain, and difficulty swallowing and breathing;
Whereas 2004 is the 130th anniversary of the diagnosis of the first case of
post-polio sequelae and the 20th anniversary of the creation of the
International Post-Polio Task Force;
Whereas research and clinical work by members of the International Post-Polio
Task Force have discovered that post-polio sequelae can be treated, and
even prevented, if polio survivors are taught to conserve energy and use
assistive devices to stop damaging and killing the reduced number of
overworked, polio virus-damaged neurons in the spinal cord and brain
that survived the polio attack;
Whereas many medical professionals, and polio survivors, do not know of the
existence of post-polio sequelae, or of the available treatments; and
Whereas the mission of the International Post-Polio Task Force includes
educating medical professionals and the 20,000,000 polio survivors in
the world about post-polio sequelae through the international post-polio
letter campaign, television public service announcements provided by the
Columbia Broadcasting System and the National Broadcasting System
Company, and a continuing plot about polio and post-polio sequelae on
the National Broadcasting Company television series ``American Dreams'':
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) recognizes the need for every American child to be
vaccinated against polio;
(2) recognizes the 1,630,000 Americans who survived polio,
their new battle with post-polio sequelae, and the need for
education and appropriate medical care;
(3) requests that every State proclaim 2004 as ``The Year
of Polio Awareness'' to promote vaccination and post-polio
sequelae education and treatment; and
(4) requests that the President convene a White House Polio
Awareness Summit, with members of the International Post-Polio
Task Force and all appropriate departments and agencies, to
take immediate action to educate--
(A) the people of the United States about the need
for polio vaccination; and
(B) the polio survivors and the medical
professionals in the United States about the cause and
treatment of post-polio sequelae.
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