Maternal Vaccination Act

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, current data clearly suggests that vaccinations for women during pregnancy can protect mothers and newborns against infectious diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has long recommended various vaccinations for pregnant women to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.

Despite these recommendations, vaccination rates among pregnant women remain relatively low. But according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, when a vaccine recommendation comes directly from a patient's own OB-GYN, the likelihood of accepting that vaccine could be up to 50 times higher.

The Maternal Vaccination Act requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to include obstetric providers in existing vaccination public awareness campaign programs to help increase vaccinations among pregnant and postpartum women.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source