FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC — Yesterday, Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr., Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette, and Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Gene Green, sent a letter to Chairmen Fred Upton, Joe Pitts, and Tim Murphy requesting a hearing on the current measles outbreak and the importance of vaccinations to prevent the spread of measles. This public health issue returned to public attention last year after an outbreak in Ohio, and a December outbreak that began at Disneyland has led to 95 over 100 measles cases in eight 14 states and Mexico.
The members wrote that in 2000, fourteen years prior to the current outbreak, “the U.S. was able to eliminate measles because of a highly effective vaccination program and a strong public health system,” and that measles’ resurgence can likely be traced to “several outbreaks in communities with groups of unvaccinated people.” They added that “for the 42 patients for whom vaccination status is known, 34 were unvaccinated and three received partial vaccinations.”
The full text of the letter is available below and online here
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