[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 177 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 177

Expressing support for the designation of April 30, 2019, as ``National 
             Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 30, 2019

     Ms. Hirono (for herself and Mr. King) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
                          Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing support for the designation of April 30, 2019, as ``National 
             Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day''.

Whereas, as many as 2,200,000 individuals in the United States are chronically 
        infected with hepatitis B, and as many as \2/3\ of those individuals are 
        unaware of the infection;
Whereas hepatitis B is a viral infection of the liver that is transmitted via 
        infected blood and other bodily fluids, including through--

    (1) mother-to-child transmission; and

    (2) injection drug use;

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 is a common cause 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 in the United 
        States have routinely been vaccinated against hepatitis B since the 
        1990s;
Whereas the hepatitis B vaccine, which is 95 percent effective and was the first 
        anticancer vaccine to be developed, is projected to prevent 310,000,000 
        cases of hepatitis B worldwide from 1990 to 2020;
Whereas only 25 percent of adults in the United States are vaccinated against 
        hepatitis B;
Whereas the number of reported acute hepatitis B cases increased by 20 percent 
        nationwide in 2015;
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 reported 729-percent increase from 2015 to 2017 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 southeastern 
Massachusetts; and

    (4) a reported 62-percent increase from 2012 to 2016 in North Carolina;

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, 2019, 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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