Political Quotes

“When I grew up in the fifties, I remember taking the sugar cube, the anti-polio vaccine, the Jonas Salk vaccine, for the first time ever. Polio has been a dread disease that has affected the American people and people around the world for many years, but now it is almost totally eradicated. Why? Because of a worldwide effort by many organizations--not the least of which is the CDC--to see to it that the inoculations are made available. In fact, polio now only resides in three countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria. We are close to closing the door and having a polio-free world, just as we are getting closer and closer to eradicating measles, which now primarily still has an outbreak in Nigeria. CDC's readiness and ability to deploy at a moment's notice makes all the difference in the world. I don't wish to sell here, but I have to make one note. One of the reasons CDC is in Atlanta and that is such a good location is they can be anywhere in the world in a matter of a day by the Hartsfield International Airport. Not a day goes by but somewhere around the world a country or a community calls and says: We need help. We have a problem. We don't know what it is, but it has to be identified. CDC scientists and doctors are put on the planes to fly around the world to diagnose, identify, and provide the cure so the disease does not become an outbreak that takes thousands of lives.”