On Tuesday, March 5, the Senate health committee will hold a hearing on vaccine-preventable diseases, ongoing outbreaks that pose a significant risk to public health, and the importance of immunizations.

Last week, Senate health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) sent a bipartisan letter with Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash) to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary for Health asking about efforts to promote vaccination and vaccine confidence as multiple states face outbreaks of measles in communities with low vaccination rates.

The Senate health committee held a hearing on the re-emergence of vaccine-preventable diseases on February 10, 2015.