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1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Children by the age of 24 months are recommended
3 to receive vaccinations that protect them against 15
4 potentially serious and deadly illnesses; vaccine coverage
5 among children aged 24 months and born in 2020 and 2021 is
6 lower compared to those born in 2018 and 2019; and
7 WHEREAS, Children without insurance and those covered by
8 Medicaid or other public insurance have lower vaccine rates
9 than children covered only by private insurance; there are
10 gaps in vaccine coverage by race and ethnicity, household
11 income, and in rural versus urban areas; and
12 WHEREAS, When fewer people have received the recommended
13 childhood immunizations this can lead to the resurgence of
14 vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, pertussis,
15 varicella, and rotavirus and their associated illness and
16 death; and
17 WHEREAS, There are vaccination requirements for enrollment
18 in public and private schools, child care facilities, and
19 pre-kindergarten programs; data is collected annually on the
20 number of children in kindergarten who meet, are exempt from,
21 or are in the process of meeting school immunization
22 requirements; and
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1 WHEREAS, Medical and religious exemptions from school
2 immunization requirements are available; under the
3 McKinney-Vento Act, temporary enrollment for students who need
4 additional time to submit documentation or need more time to
5 receive their immunizations is permissible; and
6 WHEREAS, Coverage of all school-required immunizations in
7 Illinois has declined for the 2023/2024 school year; coverage
8 of many vaccines is below the community immunity threshold
9 leaving school communities without this protection; and
10 WHEREAS, In Illinois, there were 12,667 religious
11 exemptions for school immunizations for the 2022/2023 school
12 year; this increased to 15,339 for the 2023/2024 school year,
13 the largest number of religious exemptions in Illinois in over
14 10 years; therefore, be it
15 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL
16 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the
17 implementation of interventions to support vaccine uptake and
18 reduce disparities in vaccine coverage to ensure children are
19 protected from vaccine-preventable diseases; and be it further
20 RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Department of Health,
21 the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Illinois
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1 Department of Healthcare and Family Services to work with
2 pediatricians, clinicians, families, and other stakeholders to
3 ensure infants and children are vaccinated on time and
4 students begin school fully vaccinated; and be it further
5 RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Department of Health,
6 the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Illinois
7 Department of Healthcare and Family Services to continue to
8 invest in immunization initiatives and infrastructure to
9 ensure timely reporting of vaccine coverage to ensure children
10 are protected from vaccine-preventable illness in public and
11 private schools, child care facilities, and pre-kindergarten
12 programs and beyond.
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