CLINTON, Hillary: . Thank you, Mr. President
CLINTON, Hillary: and I thank my colleague. Senator Roberts has
CLINTON, Hillary: outlined the impact that the 1918 flu outbreak
CLINTON, Hillary: had on Kansas, our Nation, and the world. It is
CLINTON, Hillary: almost unimaginable that starting with that one
CLINTON, Hillary: company cook, 50 million people worldwide died.
CLINTON, Hillary: I'd like to tell a different story about a public
CLINTON, Hillary: health success. In March of 1947, the City of New
CLINTON, Hillary: York faced an outbreak of smallpox when three
CLINTON, Hillary: cases appeared at a local hospital. On April 4th,
CLINTON, Hillary: New York City began a mass vaccination campaign
CLINTON, Hillary: to prevent further cases from occurring.
CLINTON, Hillary: You'll see behind me a photograph of Red Cross
CLINTON, Hillary: volunteers waiting to receive a vaccination
CLINTON, Hillary: against this deadly disease. Over the next month,
CLINTON, Hillary: more than 6 million people were inoculated
CLINTON, Hillary: against smallpox, the largest mass vaccination in
CLINTON, Hillary: U.S. history. Even President Truman, who was
CLINTON, Hillary: scheduled to visit New York at this time,
CLINTON, Hillary: received a vaccination.
CLINTON, Hillary: Through the cooperative efforts of local
CLINTON, Hillary: government employees, public health workers and
CLINTON, Hillary: an army of volunteers, an outbreak was averted.
CLINTON, Hillary: Vaccinations took place at hospitals, schools,
CLINTON, Hillary: and police stations. Frequent press bulletins
CLINTON, Hillary: helped to ensure that people knew what was
CLINTON, Hillary: happening and where they could go to have
CLINTON, Hillary: themselves and their families vaccinated. Our
CLINTON, Hillary: national public health system was able to respond
CLINTON, Hillary: both quickly and efficiently to contain this
CLINTON, Hillary: disease.
CLINTON, Hillary: As the New York City Health Commissioner reported
CLINTON, Hillary: in the American Journal of Public Health later
CLINTON, Hillary: that year, never before had so many people in one
CLINTON, Hillary: city been vaccinated in such a short time and on
CLINTON, Hillary: such short notice. Thanks are due to the press
CLINTON, Hillary: and radio for giving so generously of their space
CLINTON, Hillary: and time to bring necessary information to the
CLINTON, Hillary: public. Had it not been for them and the
CLINTON, Hillary: intelligent cooperation of the public, the
CLINTON, Hillary: generosity of private physicians and volunteer
CLINTON, Hillary: workers, notably from the American Red Cross and
CLINTON, Hillary: the American Women's Voluntary Services and
CLINTON, Hillary: former Air Raid Warden groups from World War II,
CLINTON, Hillary: it would have been impossible to have achieved
CLINTON, Hillary: this remarkable record.
CLINTON, Hillary: Now Senator Roberts and I are here on the floor
CLINTON, Hillary: today because we believe, half a century later,
CLINTON, Hillary: we face a similar public health issue. The
CLINTON, Hillary: looming threat of pandemic influenza has caused
CLINTON, Hillary: our Federal Government to begin mobilizing for
CLINTON, Hillary: when not if, but when avian flu hits our
CLINTON, Hillary: shores. We are investing in research for a
CLINTON, Hillary: vaccine, stockpiling medications, and trying to
CLINTON, Hillary: develop plans for mass vaccinations.
CLINTON, Hillary: But if recent history is any indication, we may
CLINTON, Hillary: not be able to muster the same response as we did
CLINTON, Hillary: in 1947 when Americans were still on a kind of
CLINTON, Hillary: war footing or had a mentality of working
CLINTON, Hillary: together. What is worrisome to me, when I think
CLINTON, Hillary: about our country's preparedness, is the fact we
CLINTON, Hillary: are not even prepared to deal with the seasonal
CLINTON, Hillary: influenza that we face every single year.
CLINTON, Hillary: You know, since 2000, we've had four shortages of
CLINTON, Hillary: seasonal influenza vaccine. We have seen senior
CLINTON, Hillary: citizens line up for hours to get flu shots.
CLINTON, Hillary: Unfortunately, we have seen some unscrupulous
CLINTON, Hillary: distributors trying to sell the flu vaccine to
CLINTON, Hillary: the highest bidder and millions of Americans have
CLINTON, Hillary: chosen not to get vaccinated, despite the clear
CLINTON, Hillary: preventive effects of the vaccine.
CLINTON, Hillary: So this is something we want to stress and that
CLINTON, Hillary: Senator Roberts and I have been working on
CLINTON, Hillary: together to try to come up with some practical
CLINTON, Hillary: solutions. This is a matter of preparedness, not
CLINTON, Hillary: a partisan issue. This is a matter of planning.
CLINTON, Hillary: It is a matter of ensuring that our health care
CLINTON, Hillary: system can respond both to the annual flu
CLINTON, Hillary: outbreak and to the threat of a pandemic flu and
CLINTON, Hillary: we believe we have a lot of work to do.