Ark. Code Ann. § 20-10-1302: Purpose

It is recognized that:

(1) The sixth leading cause of death in Arkansas is the combined diagnostic category of pneumonia and influenza;

(2) Approximately ninety percent (90%) of the pneumonia and influenza deaths are in those over sixty-five (65) years of age;

(3) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that individuals over the age of sixty-five (65) years have annual flu shots and a pneumococcal vaccine one (1) time;

(4) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention further suggests that consent for immunization be acquired at the time of nursing home admission;

(5) Current utilization of the flu shots by nursing home residents is approximately fifty percent (50%);

(6) The elderly living in an institutional setting, where disease may be more readily transmitted, are less protected than those living in the community; and

(7) The pneumococcal vaccine utilization by nursing home residents is approximately thirty percent (30%).