The publication is reproduced in full below:
SUPPORTING H.R. 951, THE MATERNAL VACCINATION ACT
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HON. TERRI A. SEWELL
of alabama
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Ms. SEWELL. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 951, the Maternal Vaccination Act. The pandemic has laid bare the historical inequities that exist in our health care system for Black Americans, especially for Black parents. My constituency is painfully aware of the pervasive, systemic and institutional influences that have contributed to these disparities.
And let's be clear, these disparities have only been exacerbated by the pandemic, which is why me and my colleagues have been so adamant in the inclusion of policies to end our nation's maternal mortality crisis and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes.
As we are almost two years into a global pandemic that has disproportionately harmed communities of color, the risks facing Black women and other birthing people of color are at a crisis point. Any legislative proposal that will successfully and meaningfully address the pandemic's impact on people of color must directly address the effects of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) on pregnant people and new moms.
As many of us know, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any high-income country and the only rate that is rising. The pregnancy-related mortality rate for Black women in the U.S. is three to four times higher than the rate for white women, and other women and birthing people of color also face elevated rates of mortality and morbidity.
The risks for pregnant people have only grown during COVID-19: according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ``pregnant and recently pregnant women are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 compared to nonpregnant women.'' The CDC also found that pregnant people with COVID-19 are at an increased risk for adverse pregnancy outcomes. In addition to clinical risks, the pandemic has affected social determinants of health that contribute to maternal health disparities, like increased food insecurity, which disproportionately impacts Black and Hispanic families.
Without bold and immediate action to address the heightened clinical and non-clinical threats to pregnant people and their growing families, our national recovery from COVID-19 will only exacerbate the inequities that existed before the pandemic and worsened over the past year.
Recognizing the urgent need to address these alarming trends, President Biden's American Families Plan includes a much- needed $3 billion investment in maternal health. The President's proposal provides an opportunity to make considerable investments in federal funding to address this crisis, including policies included in the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021 and a permanent expansion of yearlong postpartum Medicaid coverage. By advancing these two priorities in the recent recovery package, we comprehensively addressed every driver of our nation's maternal health crisis.
The Momnibus includes investments that will be needed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, including investments in community-based organizations, policies to grow and diversify the perinatal workforce, expanded access to maternal mental health care treatments and support, measures to address the impacts of climate change on maternal and infant health outcomes, and provisions to protect pregnant people during this pandemic and any future public health emergency.
My bill, the Maternal Vaccination Act or H.R. 951, directly addresses the health of both moms and babies. This bill is critically important because although we know that maternal vaccinations are important for the health of moms and babies, only half of pregnant people get their flu vaccines and less than half get Tdap vaccinations to protect against pertussis.
With pertussis on the rise and outbreaks occurring across the United States, we need to invest in initiatives to promote maternal immunizations and address racial and ethnic disparities in maternal vaccination rates. Even though, white adults have higher vaccination coverage than Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American adults, there is more that can be done to close this gap.
I was proud to author the Maternal Vaccination Act because it provides funding for programs to increase maternal vaccination rates, protecting both new moms and their babies.
Specifically, the Maternal Vaccination Act will provide funding for a public and provider awareness campaign to promote maternal and child vaccinations. This includes initiatives to increase awareness about the safety, importance, and effectiveness of vaccines for pregnant and postpartum people and their children; provide targeted, evidence-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate resources about vaccines to pregnant and postpartum people, particularly in communities with historically low vaccination rates; and provide evidence-based information and resources on the safety and importance of maternal and child vaccinations to public health departments, maternal health care providers, and perinatal health workers.
This bill, like the Build Back Better Act legislation, will provide historic investments from the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act to save moms' lives, end racial and ethnic maternal health disparities, and advance birth equity across the United States.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 206
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