On the recordFebruary 2, 2015
Today, Mr. Speaker, I sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control requesting an alert to the public that highlights the importance of our children becoming vaccinated for this outbreak of measles, particularly the MMR. The United States is experiencing a large multistate measles outbreak that started in California in December of 2014 and has spread to six additional States and Mexico. From December 28, Mr. Speaker, through January 21, 2015, 51 confirmed cases linked to this outbreak have been reported to the CDC: 42 from California and nine from six other States--three in Utah, two in Washington, one in Oregon, one in Colorado, one in Nebraska, and one in Arizona. But the spread of this is enormous. The most disturbing aspect of this outbreak is that 86 percent of the patients who have contracted the disease had either been unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status. The outbreak is aggravated by the large number of children whose parents have chosen not to get the MMR vaccine. What I want to focus on, Mr. Speaker, is for us to be cautious and for us to be able to do the right thing. The saddest case was an 8- month-old baby in Arizona--innocent--who was exposed to the measles. I ask that we take this seriously, as a member of the Homeland Security Committee, and find a way to alert parents to make the right decision for their children.…
