| 1 | 1 | | 25 LC 129 0274 |
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| 2 | 2 | | House Resolution 554 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By: Representatives Buckner of the 137 |
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| 4 | 4 | | th |
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| 5 | 5 | | , Taylor of the 173 |
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| 6 | 6 | | rd |
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| 7 | 7 | | , Newton of the 127 |
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| 8 | 8 | | th |
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| 9 | 9 | | , Prince |
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| 10 | 10 | | of the 132 |
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| 11 | 11 | | nd |
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| 12 | 12 | | , Cooper of the 45 |
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| 13 | 13 | | th |
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| 14 | 14 | | , and others |
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| 15 | 15 | | A RESOLUTION |
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| 16 | 16 | | Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the nationwide Polio Vaccination Campaign; and |
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| 17 | 17 | | 1 |
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| 18 | 18 | | for other purposes.2 |
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| 19 | 19 | | WHEREAS, seventy years ago, in 1954, the United States embarked on a historic public3 |
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| 20 | 20 | | health initiative, the Polio Vaccination Campaign, marking the beginning of the end for a4 |
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| 21 | 21 | | disease that had long afflicted children and adults, leaving thousands paralyzed or dead each5 |
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| 22 | 22 | | year; and 6 |
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| 23 | 23 | | WHEREAS, polio is a highly infectious disease which has existed for thousands of years,7 |
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| 24 | 24 | | and primarily affects children under the age of five, causing paralysis and death, and for8 |
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| 25 | 25 | | which there is no known cure; and9 |
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| 26 | 26 | | WHEREAS, through the groundbreaking work of many physicians and scientists, the10 |
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| 27 | 27 | | development of the first safe and effective polio vaccine offered hope to millions of families11 |
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| 28 | 28 | | across Georgia, the United States, and the world; and12 |
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| 29 | 29 | | WHEREAS, Georgia played an important role in the campaign to stop polio, as President13 |
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| 30 | 30 | | Franklin Roosevelt, who called Georgia "my second home," was himself a victim of polio14 |
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| 31 | 31 | | H. R. 554 |
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| 32 | 32 | | - 1 - 25 LC 129 0274 |
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| 33 | 33 | | and sought therapies from the Warm Springs Institute in the 1930s and 1940s, and brought |
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| 34 | 34 | | 15 |
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| 35 | 35 | | additional public attention to this dreaded disease; and16 |
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| 36 | 36 | | WHEREAS, in the 1950s, the Talmage Memorial Hospital, now Medical College of Georgia17 |
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| 37 | 37 | | Hospital, served as a central repository for the entire Southeast of iron lungs, the life-saving18 |
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| 38 | 38 | | device that enabled paralyzed victims of polio to breathe; and19 |
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| 39 | 39 | | WHEREAS, on April 12, 1955, the largest mass vaccination effort in United States history20 |
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| 40 | 40 | | began, which ultimately led to the eradication of polio in the United States; and21 |
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| 41 | 41 | | WHEREAS, President Dwight Eisenhower, whose administration played a key role in22 |
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| 42 | 42 | | funding polio research and ensuring widespread distribution of the vaccine, stated "I think23 |
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| 43 | 43 | | that this is one of the greatest events of our time"; and24 |
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| 44 | 44 | | WHEREAS, this anniversary serves as a reminder of the power of science, medicine, and25 |
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| 45 | 45 | | collective action in overcoming such a terrible and devastating disease, which affects26 |
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| 46 | 46 | | children and stands as one of the greatest public health triumphs of the 20th century.27 |
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| 47 | 47 | | NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that28 |
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| 48 | 48 | | the members of this body commemorate the 70th anniversary of the nationwide Polio29 |
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| 49 | 49 | | Vaccination Campaign and acknowledge and salute the tremendous accomplishments of all30 |
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| 50 | 50 | | the scientists, physicians, public health personnel, parents, and others -many Georgians31 |
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| 51 | 51 | | among them- who made this remarkable achievement possible.32 |
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| 52 | 52 | | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized33 |
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| 53 | 53 | | and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the34 |
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| 54 | 54 | | public and the press.35 |
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| 55 | 55 | | H. R. 554 |
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| 56 | 56 | | - 2 - |
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