The Arizona Bioindustry Association (AZBio) today announced that the Honorable Debbie McCune Davis, Executive Director of The Arizona Partnership for Immunization will receive the AZBio Public Service Award in recognition of her accomplishments during four decades of service to the community at the AZBio Awards on October 2, 2019.
The Honorable Debbie McCune Davis, Executive Director of The Arizona Partnership for Immunization (Photo courtesy of Debbie McCune Davis)
Championing Health and Education
For 40 years, Debbie McCune Davis has been building coalitions that champion health and educational opportunities in Arizona.
She served as Arizona State Senator for District 14 from 2006 to 2017 and as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 1979 through 1994, and from 2003 through 2006. As a legislator, McCune Davis championed key legislative priorities including Education and Healthcare. During her time in the legislature, she was a leading voice in support of Arizona’s Kids Care program which enables children from low-income families to have access to the medical care they need for a healthy start in life.
Ensuring schools and universities have the ability to provide education opportunities for all Arizonans is also extremely important to her. She championed funding for K-12 education, including career and technical education programs for students across the state, as well sponsored and cosponsored bills to provide funding for university infrastructure and tuition support so that a quality education is possible all Arizona students.
Today, Debbie leads The Arizona Partnership for Immunization or TAPI, a non-profit statewide coalition of over 400 members. When TAPI was formed in response to the alarming fact that in 1993, only 43% of Arizona’s two-year-olds were fully immunized against preventable childhood diseases like measles, mumps, polio and whooping cough. Through the efforts of TAPI’s partners from both the public and private sectors, immunization coverage rates in Arizona have improved dramatically, but the challenge never ends. Each year in Arizona almost 90,000 babies are born, and none arrive immunized.
With her team at TAPI, McCune Davis has been influential in promoting immunization and preventive health services that benefit all Arizonans. Over the past year, Debbie has led a coalition of leaders who are addressing the challenge of vaccine hesitancy in Arizona.
Vaccinations have reduced disease, disability, and death from a broad range of infectious diseases and save millions of lives each year. Herd immunity, the safety level that is reached when enough people within a community are immunized against a particular disease, helps to keep that disease from spreading. Each vaccinated person is part of a network of protection that shields not only them but also the people around them. Being immunized, and immunizing your children, doesn’t just protect you and your family, it helps protect the entire community, including the most vulnerable people among us who can’t be vaccinated due to age or medical conditions.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “Many parents have questions about their children’s vaccines, and answering their questions can help parents feel confident in choosing to immunize their child according to the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule.”
Working with public health and healthcare professionals, McCune Davis is a leader in helping to ensure that Arizonans have accurate information about the importance, safety, and effectiveness of vaccination.
For her tireless efforts on behalf of Arizonans of all ages, Debbie McCune Davis is being honored with the 2019 AZBio Public Service Award.
About the AZBio Awards
A key component of Arizona Bioscience Week, The AZBio Awards & Life Science Fiesta brings together Arizona’s life science and leadership community with visitors from around the country to celebrate life-science innovation and innovators. The AZBio Awards takes place on the evening of October 2, 2019 at the Phoenix Convention Center. Highlights of the evening will include honoring the honorable Jane Dee Hull, 20th Governor of the State of Arizona with the AZBio Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement and a celebration of the achievements of leading researchers, educators, and innovator companies. The Life Science Fiesta following the award ceremony features a Student Discovery Zone that showcases the work of fifty students from Arizona high schools, community colleges, and universities along with exhibits featuring Arizona companies and patient advocacy organizations.
Arizona Bioscience Week, including the AZBio Awards & Life Science Fiesta, are presented by AZBio and the Arizona Commerce Authority.
For more information on the 2019 AZBio Awards, visit www.AZBioAwards.com
For more information on Arizona Bioscience Week, visit www.AZBio.org/AZBW2019
AZBio Media Contact:
Joan Koerber-Walker, Arizona Bioindustry Association
jkw@azbio.org 480-332-9636