IV
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. RES. 362
Expressing support for the designation of April 30, 2025, as ‘‘National
Adult Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day’’.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL30, 2025
Mr. J
OHNSONof Georgia (for himself, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WILLIAMSof
Georgia, Ms. N
ORTON, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. SEWELL, and Ms. CHU) sub-
mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the designation of April 30, 2025,
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;
Whereas hepatitis B is associated with significant disparities
among communities of color (including Asian Americans,
Pacific Islanders, and African immigrants), sexual and
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•HRES 362 IH
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;
Whereas only 30 percent of adults in the United States are
vaccinated against hepatitis B;
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•HRES 362 IH
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
(1) supports the designation of ‘‘National Adult 2
Hepatitis B Vaccination Awareness Day’’; 3
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(2) recognizes the importance of providing sup-1
port and encouragement— 2
(A) for all adults aged 18 and older to be 3
tested for hepatitis B at least once in their life-4
time in accordance with recommendations; 5
(B) for individuals susceptible to infection 6
to be vaccinated against hepatitis B; and 7
(C) for individuals diagnosed with hepatitis 8
B to be linked to appropriate care; and 9
(3) in order to reduce the number of new hepa-10
titis B infections and hepatitis B-related deaths, en-11
courages a commitment to— 12
(A) increasing adult hepatitis B vaccina-13
tion rates; 14
(B) maintaining childhood hepatitis B vac-15
cination rates; and 16
(C) promoting provider and community 17
awareness of adult hepatitis B vaccination. 18
Æ
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