IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 338 Expressing support for the designation of April 30, 2023, as ‘‘National Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day’’. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 28, 2023 Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Ms. CHU, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. BACON, Ms. CROCKETT, Mrs. CHERFILUS-MCCORMICK, Mr. CARTER of Lou- isiana, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. SEWELL, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. TRAHAN, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. COHEN, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Ms. MENG) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Expressing support for the designation of April 30, 2023, as ‘‘National Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day’’. Whereas up to 2.4 million 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 trans- mitted via infected blood and other body fluids, including through mother-to-child transmission and injection drug use; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR338.IH HR338 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 338 IH Whereas hepatitis B is associated with significant disparities among communities of color (including Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and African immigrants), sexual and gender minority communities, and those affected by the opioid crisis; Whereas individuals with chronic diseases such as diabetes, HIV, hepatitis C, and chronic liver disease, and individ- uals on hemodialysis are at an increased risk for hepatitis B co-infection; Whereas there is no cure for hepatitis B and individuals with chronic hepatitis B require lifelong medical care; Whereas chronic hepatitis B represents one of the most com- mon causes of liver cancer; Whereas 1 in every 4 individuals with unmanaged chronic hepatitis B will develop liver cancer, cirrhosis, or liver failure, with liver cancer having a 5-year-survival rate of only 18 percent in the United States; Whereas safe and highly effective vaccines to protect against hepatitis B are available; Whereas in accordance with universal childhood hepatitis B vaccination recommendations in the United States, in- fants and children have been routinely vaccinated against hepatitis B since the 1990s; Whereas all adults aged 19 to 59, and adults 60 and older with hepatitis B risk factors, are recommended to be vac- cinated against hepatitis B; Whereas the hepatitis B vaccine, which is 95 percent effective and was the first anticancer vaccine to be developed, is projected to have prevented 310 million cases of hepatitis B worldwide from 1990 to 2020; VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR338.IH HR338 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •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— 1 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR338.IH HR338 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 338 IH (1) supports the designation of ‘‘National Adult 1 Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day’’; 2 (2) recognizes the importance of providing sup- 3 port and encouragement— 4 (A) for all adults aged 18 and older to be 5 tested for hepatitis B at least once in their life- 6 time in accordance with recommendations; 7 (B) for individuals susceptible to infection 8 to be vaccinated against hepatitis B; and 9 (C) for individuals diagnosed with hepatitis 10 B to be linked to appropriate care; and 11 (3) in order to reduce the number of new hepa- 12 titis B infections and hepatitis B-related deaths, en- 13 courages a commitment to— 14 (A) increasing adult hepatitis B vaccina- 15 tion rates; 16 (B) maintaining childhood hepatitis B vac- 17 cination rates; and 18 (C) promoting provider and community 19 awareness of adult hepatitis B vaccination. 20 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:54 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR338.IH HR338 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB