[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 22, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 44909-44910]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11395]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 100 / Wednesday, May 22, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 44909]]


                Proclamation 10763 of May 17, 2024

                
National Hepatitis Testing Day, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Millions of Americans have viral hepatitis, an 
                infection of the liver that can be cured or managed 
                with the right treatment, but every year, it takes the 
                lives of thousands of Americans who for too long did 
                not realize that they were sick. Testing saves lives. 
                On National Hepatitis Testing Day, we encourage folks 
                everywhere to help spread the word and get tested, and 
                we commit to continuing our work to get every American 
                the high-quality health care they need to live long, 
                healthy lives.

                Hepatitis C, the most common strain of the disease, is 
                spread through contact with infected blood. It can take 
                years to cause noticeable symptoms, leaving many folks 
                unaware that anything is wrong. As a result, they can 
                unintentionally spread the virus; pregnant women with 
                hepatitis C can, for example, pass it on to their 
                newborns. Left untreated, it can lead to cirrhosis, 
                liver failure, liver cancer, and even death. 
                Fortunately for patients and their families, there is a 
                cure that is 95 percent effective, once folks know to 
                seek it. But it can be very expensive for people 
                without health insurance, putting it out of reach for 
                too many Americans in need, and that is wrong.

                We have the tools to end this public health threat, 
                saving thousands of lives. I have proposed a 
                comprehensive plan that would speed up testing, 
                increase access to life-saving medication, train more 
                medical providers, and boost research into a vaccine. 
                For example, my plan would simplify testing by 
                accelerating the availability of point-of-care 
                diagnostics, which means patients could be diagnosed in 
                a single visit rather than having to follow up with 
                multiple tests. It would launch an innovative 
                subscription model for hepatitis C drugs, which would 
                expand access to life-saving treatments for individuals 
                who are uninsured, enrolled in Medicaid, eligible to 
                receive healthcare from the Indian Health Service, or 
                incarcerated. It would invest in health centers and 
                programs that deliver hepatitis care and in training 
                more health care professionals, including programs that 
                serve Black and Native communities--who are 
                disproportionately affected by hepatitis C. It also 
                supports efforts to raise awareness of the critical 
                benefits of testing and treatment, reaching out 
                directly to communities with high infection rates, 
                including people who are incarcerated or in drug 
                treatment programs. My Budget proposes investments that 
                would help prevent serious illness and avoid serious 
                complications from hepatitis C so that we can save 
                lives and finally end hepatitis C in America once and 
                for all.

                At the same time, we are working to prevent hepatitis 
                B, the second most common strain of viral hepatitis, 
                which ultimately contributes to as many as 25 percent 
                of people dying prematurely from liver-related 
                diseases. Over 600,000 Americans, many from Asian 
                American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 
                communities, are living with a chronic hepatitis B 
                infection. The good news is that there is already a 
                hepatitis B vaccine that can save lives. The Centers 
                for Disease Control and Prevention urges all adults 
                under 60 to be screened and vaccinated and for 30 years 
                has recommended that children be vaccinated as well.

[[Page 44910]]

                America has always been a place where we can get big 
                things done together. That includes beating hepatitis 
                once and for all. This work begins with every American 
                taking steps to protect their own health by asking your 
                health care provider about getting tested for hepatitis 
                B and C and getting vaccinated for hepatitis B. My 
                Administration will keep pushing to advance prevention, 
                testing, treatment, and cures. Together, we can save 
                lives.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 19, 2024, 
                as National Hepatitis Testing Day. I encourage all 
                Americans to join in activities that will increase 
                awareness about viral hepatitis and what we can do to 
                prevent and treat it.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventeenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                eighth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-11395
Filed 5-21-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P