[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 602 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 602

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


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                   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

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                               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 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

    Resolved, 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.
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