III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 602 

Expressing support for the designation of April 30, 2022, as ‘‘National 

Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 28, 2022 

Ms. HIRONO 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, 2022, 

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

Whereas up to 2,400,000 individuals in the United States are 

chronically infected with hepatitis B, and up to twothirds of individuals with chronic hepatitis B are unaware 

of their infection status; 

Whereas hepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver transmitted via infected blood and other body fluids, including 

through mother-to-child transmission and injection drug 

use; 

Whereas hepatitis B is associated with significant disparities 

among— 

(1) communities of color, including Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and African immigrants; 

(2) sexual and gender minority communities; and 


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•SRES 602 IS 

(3) individuals affected by the opioid crisis; 

Whereas individuals with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, 

HIV, hepatitis C, and chronic liver disease, and individuals 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 represents one of the most common causes 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 have been routinely vaccinated against 

hepatitis B since the 1990s; 

Whereas all adults between the ages of 19 and 59 and adults 

60 and older with hepatitis B risk factors are recommended to be vaccinated against hepatitis B; 

Whereas the hepatitis B vaccine, which is 95 percent effective 

and was the first anticancer vaccine to be developed, is 

projected to have prevented 310,000,000 cases of hepatitis B worldwide between 1990 and 2020; 

Whereas only 30 percent of adults in the United States are 

vaccinated against hepatitis B; 


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•SRES 602 IS 

Whereas the number of reported acute hepatitis B cases increased by 11 percent in the United States between 2014 

and 2018; 

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 489 percent increase between 2015 and 2016 

in Maine; 

(2) a reported 114 percent increase between 2009 

and 2013 in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Tennessee; 

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

(4) a reported 56 percent increase between 2014 and 

2016 in North Carolina; 

Whereas 36 percent of new hepatitis B cases are among individuals who inject drugs; 

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, 2022, 

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


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•SRES 602 IS 

1 (2) recognizes the importance of providing sup2 port and encouragement— 

3 (A) for all individuals to be tested for hep4 atitis B; 

5 (B) for individuals susceptible to infection 

6 to be vaccinated against hepatitis B; and 

7 (C) for individuals diagnosed with hepatitis 

8 B to be linked to appropriate care; and 

9 (3) in order to reduce the number of new hepa10 titis B infections and hepatitis B-related deaths, en11 courages a commitment to— 

12 (A) increasing adult hepatitis B vaccina13 tion rates; 

14 (B) maintaining childhood hepatitis B vac15 cination rates; and 

16 (C) promoting provider and community 

17 awareness of adult hepatitis B vaccination. 

Æ 


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