Expressing support for the designation of April 30, 2022, as National Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day.

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 two-thirds 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 (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; 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 That the Senate (1) supports the designation of April 30, 2022, as National Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day (2) recognizes the importance of providing support and encouragement (A) for all individuals to be tested for hepatitis B; (B) for individuals susceptible to infection to be vaccinated against hepatitis B; and (C) for individuals diagnosed with hepatitis B to be linked to appropriate care; and (3) in order to reduce the number of new hepatitis B infections and hepatitis B-related deaths, encourages a commitment to (A) increasing adult hepatitis B vaccination rates; (B) maintaining childhood hepatitis B vaccination rates; and (C) promoting provider and community awareness of adult hepatitis B vaccination.

Summary: This resolution expresses support for the designation of April 30, 2022, as National Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day.