[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 70 (Thursday, April 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2222-S2223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 602--EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE DESIGNATION OF APRIL 
 30, 2022, AS ``NATIONAL ADULT HEPATITIS B VACCINATION AWARENESS DAY''

  Ms. HIRONO submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 602

       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;

[[Page S2223]]

       (B) maintaining childhood hepatitis B vaccination rates; 
     and
       (C) promoting provider and community awareness of adult 
     hepatitis B vaccination.

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