III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 177 

Expressing support for the designation of April 30, 2019, as ‘‘National 

Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2019 

Ms. HIRONO (for herself and Mr. KING) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

Pensions 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing support for the designation of April 30, 2019, 

as ‘‘National Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day’’. 

Whereas, as many as 2,200,000 individuals in the United 

States are chronically infected with hepatitis B, and as 

many as 2⁄3 of those individuals are unaware of the infection; 

Whereas hepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver that is 

transmitted via infected blood and other bodily fluids, including through— 

(1) mother-to-child transmission; and 

(2) injection drug use; 

Whereas individuals with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, 

HIV, hepatitis C, and chronic liver disease, and individVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Apr 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR177.IS SR177

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•SRES 177 IS 

uals on hemodialysis, are at an increased risk for hepatitis B co-infection; 

Whereas there is no cure for hepatitis B, and individuals with 

chronic hepatitis B require lifelong medical care; 

Whereas chronic hepatitis B is a common cause of liver cancer; 

Whereas 1 in every 4 individuals with unmanaged chronic 

hepatitis B will develop liver cancer, cirrhosis, or liver 

failure, with liver cancer having a 5-year survival rate of 

only 18 percent in the United States; 

Whereas safe and highly effective vaccines to protect against 

hepatitis B are available; 

Whereas, in accordance with universal childhood hepatitis B 

vaccination recommendations in the United States, infants and children in the United States have routinely 

been vaccinated against hepatitis B since the 1990s; 

Whereas the hepatitis B vaccine, which is 95 percent effective 

and was the first anticancer vaccine to be developed, is 

projected to prevent 310,000,000 cases of hepatitis B 

worldwide from 1990 to 2020; 

Whereas only 25 percent of adults in the United States are 

vaccinated against hepatitis B; 

Whereas the number of reported acute hepatitis B cases increased by 20 percent nationwide in 2015; 

Whereas, as a result of the opioid epidemic, there have been 

significant regional increases in acute hepatitis B cases 

in the United States, including— 

(1) a reported 729-percent increase from 2015 to 

2017 in Maine; 


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•SRES 177 IS 

(2) a reported 114-percent increase from 2009 to 

2013 in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Tennessee; 

(3) a reported 78-percent increase in 2017 in southeastern Massachusetts; and 

(4) a reported 62-percent increase from 2012 to 

2016 in North Carolina; 

Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention, hepatitis B is 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV, and 5 to 10 times more infectious than 

hepatitis C; and 

Whereas there are significant opportunities, particularly within the setting of the opioid epidemic, to prevent new hepatitis B infections, and thereby reduce the incidence of 

liver cancer and cirrhosis, through efforts to— 

(1) increase adult hepatitis B vaccination; and 

(2) maintain childhood hepatitis B vaccination: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports the designation of April 30, 2019, 

3 as ‘‘National Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Aware4 ness Day’’; 

5 (2) recognizes the importance of providing sup6 port and encouragement— 

7 (A) for all individuals to be tested for hep8 atitis B; 

9 (B) for individuals susceptible to infection 

10 to be vaccinated against hepatitis B; and 

11 (C) for individuals diagnosed with hepatitis 

12 B to be linked to appropriate care; and 


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•SRES 177 IS 

1 (3) in order to reduce the number of new hepa2 titis B infections and hepatitis B-related deaths, en3 courages a commitment to— 

4 (A) increasing adult hepatitis B vaccina5 tion rates; 

6 (B) maintaining childhood hepatitis B vac7 cination rates; and 

8 (C) promoting provider and community 

9 awareness of adult hepatitis B vaccination. 

Æ 


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