Alaska STATES AND TERRITORIES WHICH DO NOT PERMIT EXAMINATION AND TREATMENT OF MINORS WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT JANUARY 1, 1972 Virgin Islands Puerto Rico 8. Alaska STATES AND TERRITORIES WHICH DO NOT REQUIRE ALL LABORATORIES TO REPORT REACTIVE TESTS Puerto Rico Alaska STATES AND TERRITORIES WHICH DO NOT REQUIRE PRENATAL EXAMINATIONS JANUARY 1, 1972 Virgin Islands Puerto Rico Alaska STATES AND TERRITORIES WHICH DO NOT REQUIRE PREMARITAL EXAMINATIONS JANUARY 1, 1972 10. Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Senator HUGHES. The Chair calls Dr. Robert Parrott, chairman of the Department of Pediatrics, Childrens Hospital, Washington, D.C. Dr. Parrott is a member of the Committee on Infectious Diseases. He is here today representing the academy. Dr. Parrott, you may proceed with your testimony. STATEMENT OF ROBERT H. PARROTT, M.D., AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS Dr. PARROTT. I am a pediatrician, a member of the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics and I am also director of Children's Hospital of the District of Columbia and chairman of the Department of Child Health and Development, George Washington University Medical Center. For the American Academy of Pediatrics and for myself I am here to support the provisions and concepts of S. 3442 which would resurrect support for distinct authority and mandate to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare to eradicate those communicable diseases for which the tools of eradication exist. The academy supported the original Communicable Disease Control Amendments Act of 1972 and believes that specific authority and funding should be provided for these purposes in a continuous way, which would allow for program development that would lead to eradication of these diseases. Why are we concerned? Why a distinct authority on special funding? Our concern and frustration are that we know medically what can be, one in the instances of diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough as well as poliomyelitis, measles, and rubella. We know that immunization will work. Under the impetus of the earlier Vaccination Assistance Acts we have attained increased levels of protection against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis over those ever attained before. We have virtually wiped out poliomyelitis. We began a massive reduction in measles incidence including reduction in fatal encephalitis. We turned the tide of rubella infection with a resultant reduction in the horrible fetal wastage and anomalies that result from maternal rubella infection. But more needs to be done; we cannot relax. In the case of all of the above-mentioned diseases there is reason for concern that immunization levels are dropping, particularly among our less informed and helpless families, usually in our major cities. With the information and tools at hand we should not have even one case of measles, encephalitis, or one damaged heart as a result of rubella. Consider in the case of measles the estimates of Finkel for what was accomplished with immunization between 1963 and 1968: 9.7 million cases of measles were averted, 3.000 cases of mental retardation were prevented, 973 lives saved, 505,000 days of hospitalization were avoided and 32 million days of absence from school averted. It is estimated that this was worth $423 million. Continued strong support which is earmarked for these purposes is needed. We need more funds for vaccination assistance and information programs and particularly for outreach efforts to find pockets of unprotected children and protect them. Without a distinct authority directed to these problems the chance exists that they will become lost. |