Call Your Representative Today to Support Global Immunizations

Greetings from the Shot@Life Summit in Washington D.C.! Today, I'll be on Capitol Hill with dedicated global vaccine advocates from all over the country. We spent all yesterday preparing with presentations on the current state of immunizations and child health from experts like Seth Berkely of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. We practiced our meeting strategies and some of us even held some post-dinner lobby preparation talk in a weird plastic igloo outside our restaurant. (That was a first for me!)

Seriously, this was the igloo we found with a view of the Kennedy Center. We sat in a circle in it and discussed
our legislative asks for our lobby meetings. Warning: Not every conference has an igloo nearby.

If you want to be a part of this movement to stop childhood diseases with smart, cost-effective immunization solutions, here's what you can do:

Pick up your phone tomorrow and call your U.S. representative. Urge them to "sign onto the brand new Gavi Replenishment Resolution, which has a resolution number H. Res. 861." You can use an easy patch-through service at 1-844-0368-0294.

H. Res. 861 celebrates and commemorates the work of Gavi and affirms U.S. continued support for the purchase and distribution of vaccines through the Gavi Alliance. MOST IMPORTANTLY, it recognizes the need for multi-year pledges from the U.S. and encourages continued funding commitment for "at least" the current levels.

All you need to do is read the quote in bold, but if you want to say more, you're welcome to use these talking points from Shot@Life to help guide your message. 

Why should we keep funding Gavi? Well, in the last 20 years since it was formed...

• over 760 million children have been immunized
• over 13 million deaths have been averted
• 86% of the world's children are reached each year by routine immunization
• 15 countries have now moved OFF of Gavi support...meaning they now have sustainable programs to provide vaccines to their kids by themselves!

Out of all the Sustainable Development Goals, the immunization portion of Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) is the most likely to be attained by the target date of 2030. Let's work together to get there!!!