Whereas the contributions of Louis Pasteur and Edward Jenner to the discovery of the principles of vaccination and immunology are among the most consequential health findings in human history; Whereas vaccines have made it possible for the world to have eradicated smallpox, saving approximately 5 million lives annually, and for the international community to be on the brink of eradicating polio and to have saved an estimated 5 million people from this incurable disease over the past 2 decades, Whereas vaccines have dramatically reduced the spread of many more crippling and potentially life-threatening diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, measles, mumps, and rubella, and vaccines prevent the spread of commonly infectious and potentially fatal diseases such as chickenpox, shingles, influenza, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal disease, pneumococcal, rotavirus, and whooping cough (pertussis); Whereas the scientific and medical communities are in overwhelming consensus that vaccines are both effective and safe, and the dissemination of unfounded, and debunked, theories about the dangers of vaccinations pose a great risk to public health, and scientifically sound education and outreach campaigns about vaccination and immunization are fundamental for a well-informed public; Whereas an estimated 43,000 adults and 300 children die annually from vaccine-preventable diseases or their complications in the United States, and the health and livelihood of young children, seniors, individuals with immunodeficiency disorders, and those who cannot be vaccinated, is particularly compromised by communities with low vaccination rates; Whereas substantial research has shown that vaccination is a highly cost-effective form of preventive medicine, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that vaccinations will save nearly $295 billion in direct costs and $1.38 trillion in total societal costs in the United States