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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 5 | | WHEREAS, Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Baylor |
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| 6 | 6 | | College of Medicine has undertaken extraordinary efforts to track |
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| 7 | 7 | | and measure the impact of the virus, to research and develop |
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| 8 | 8 | | treatments and vaccines, and to provide the public with accurate |
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| 9 | 9 | | and up-to-date information as the crisis has progressed; and |
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| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, After the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the |
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| 11 | 11 | | United States on January 20, 2020, experts from Baylor College of |
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| 12 | 12 | | Medicine were invited by national and international media to share |
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| 13 | 13 | | their expertise; during the weeks that followed, the college's |
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| 14 | 14 | | administrators and faculty were sought out for guidance by city and |
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| 15 | 15 | | county officials, and the institution's leadership role continued |
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| 16 | 16 | | to grow as the scope and severity of the pandemic increased; Baylor |
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| 17 | 17 | | experts have since made appearances on a host of major television |
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| 18 | 18 | | networks and have been featured in numerous print publications, and |
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| 19 | 19 | | the college has published information guides about how to safely |
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| 20 | 20 | | operate schools and businesses; and |
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| 21 | 21 | | WHEREAS, Since Baylor researchers began focusing their |
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| 22 | 22 | | attention on the novel coronavirus, they have uncovered important |
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| 23 | 23 | | findings about the transmission of the virus, about the |
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| 24 | 24 | | characteristics of COVID-19, and about treatments for patients with |
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| 25 | 25 | | severe illness; they have submitted more than 140 applications for |
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| 26 | 26 | | COVID-19-related research studies, 25 of which were approved |
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| 27 | 27 | | treatment trials; in July 2020, the college was selected as one of |
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| 28 | 28 | | the sites for the Moderna vaccine's Phase 3 clinical trial, and |
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| 29 | 29 | | Baylor has also participated in trials for the Novavax and |
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| 30 | 30 | | Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and in the development of a vaccine |
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| 31 | 31 | | candidate that is currently undergoing trials in India; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | WHEREAS, In addition to pursuing research with global |
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| 33 | 33 | | implications, Baylor has partnered with local government agencies |
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| 34 | 34 | | to contain the spread of the virus; researchers with the college |
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| 35 | 35 | | have joined with Houston and Harris County public health |
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| 36 | 36 | | departments to conduct seroprevalence studies and wastewater |
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| 37 | 37 | | testing and to administer diagnostic tests to the public; to date, |
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| 38 | 38 | | Baylor has provided over 31,000 COVID-19 tests and administered |
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| 39 | 39 | | nearly 30,000 vaccines; and |
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| 40 | 40 | | WHEREAS, Baylor College of Medicine faculty and researchers |
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| 41 | 41 | | have answered the call to action during a complex and ever-evolving |
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| 42 | 42 | | global health crisis, and they are deserving of our lasting |
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| 43 | 43 | | gratitude for their hard work, their ingenuity, and their earnest |
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| 44 | 44 | | commitment to public health; now, therefore, be it |
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| 45 | 45 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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| 46 | 46 | | Legislature hereby honor Baylor College of Medicine for its service |
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| 47 | 47 | | during the COVID-19 pandemic and extend sincere gratitude to all |
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| 48 | 48 | | those affiliated with the institution for their important work; |
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| 49 | 49 | | and, be it further |
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| 50 | 50 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 51 | 51 | | prepared for Baylor College of Medicine as an expression of high |
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| 52 | 52 | | regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |
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