•HRES 338 IH 
Whereas hepatitis B is associated with significant disparities 
among communities of color (including Asian Americans, 
Pacific Islanders, and African immigrants), sexual and 
gender minority communities, and those affected by the 
opioid crisis; 
Whereas individuals with chronic diseases such as diabetes, 
HIV, hepatitis C, and chronic liver disease, and individ-
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 represents one of the most com-
mon 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, in-
fants and children have been routinely vaccinated against 
hepatitis B since the 1990s; 
Whereas all adults aged 19 to 59, and adults 60 and older 
with hepatitis B risk factors, are recommended to be vac-
cinated 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 million cases of hepatitis 
B worldwide from 1990 to 2020; 
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•HRES 338 IH 
Whereas only 30 percent of adults in the United States are 
vaccinated against hepatitis B; 
Whereas the number of reported acute hepatitis B cases in-
creased by 11 percent nationwide between 2014 and 
2018; 
Whereas, as a result of the drug use epidemic, there have 
been significant regional increases in acute hepatitis B 
cases in the United States, including— 
(1) a 489 percent increase in acute hepatitis B in-
fections from 2015 to 2016 in Maine; 
(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 south-
eastern Massachusetts; and 
(4) a reported 56 percent increase from 2014 to 
2016 in North Carolina; 
Whereas 36 percent of new hepatitis B cases are among peo-
ple who inject drugs; 
Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, hepatitis B is 50 to 100 times more infec-
tious than HIV and 5 to 10 times more infectious than 
hepatitis C; and 
Whereas there are significant opportunities, particularly with-
in the setting of the drug use 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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•HRES 338 IH 
(1) supports the designation of ‘‘National Adult 
Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day’’; 
(2) recognizes the importance of providing sup-
port and encouragement— 
(A) for all adults aged 18 and older to be 
tested for hepatitis B at least once in their life-
time in accordance with recommendations; 
(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 hepa-
titis B infections and hepatitis B-related deaths, en-
courages a commitment to— 
(A) increasing adult hepatitis B vaccina-
tion rates; 
(B) maintaining childhood hepatitis B vac-
cination rates; and 
(C) promoting provider and community 
awareness of adult hepatitis B vaccination. 
Æ 
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