Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today expressed his concern about dropping immunization rates in Kansas at a Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing on the re-emergence of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Senator Roberts, who had measles as a child, asked Dr. Anne Schuchat, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about what can be done to increase immunization rates and better inform parents about the importance of vaccinations.

“In Kansas, we had 19 cases of vaccine-preventable diseases last year, the most prevalent of which was the measles. While we haven’t had any new measles cases reported yet this year, our public health workers are concerned, our parents are concerned, and I am concerned,” Roberts said.  

“The problem is our immunization rates are down.  For the 2013 to 2014 school year, the percentage of kids that have received the necessary vaccinations is below 90. That’s not good. I had the measles. And as a parent and a grandparent, I support vaccination,” Roberts concluded.

Click the video below to watch the full exchange between Senator Roberts and Dr. Schuchat.

Click Here to Watch

Senator Roberts is a senior member of the Senate Committee on Finance and is a member of its Subcommittee on Health Care. He is a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and is co-chairman of the Senate Rural Health Caucus.

###