Urge ACIP to Recommend Universal Hepatitis B Vaccination for Adults

 

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is currently reviewing evidence to determine if they should recommend universal adult hepatitis B vaccination. If the committee votes in favor of the proposal, this would mean that all adults in the United States would officially be recommended to receive the hepatitis B vaccine by the federal government. This is significant because many organizations, providers, and insurance companies base their immunization policies and allocation of resources on ACIP’s recommendations. Current guidelines are based on complicated risk-based factors that have proven to be ineffective at capturing all who are at risk.

 

The Hepatitis B Foundation has drafted a comment letter highlighting evidence and viewpoints to submit for consideration by the ACIP. To support this letter, individuals are invited to sign the petition on this page. To sign on behalf of an organization, please do so here.

To the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP): 

 

We are grateful for the ACIP’s efforts to address adult hepatitis B vaccination. The Committee’s consideration of a universal hepatitis B recommendation is critical in addressing the consistently low adult hepatitis B vaccination rates and eliminating viral hepatitis in the United States.

 

The hepatitis community strongly supports a recommendation for universal adult hepatitis B vaccination. Failure by the Committee to recommend universal adult hepatitis B vaccination for all adults is a missed opportunity to stem the tide of spikes in hepatitis B infections across the country and will be detrimental to the elimination of viral hepatitis inequities in the United States.

 

We would like to directly address several concerns raised by the Committee during the September 29, 2021 ACIP meeting:

 

The Importance of a Universal Adult Hepatitis B Recommendation

 

Hepatitis B remains a significant public health problem in the United States despite the presence of highly effective vaccines. Adult hepatitis B vaccine coverage reached just 30% in 2018, which is an incremental increase of less than 5% from 2017 . Prior to 2018, the adult hepatitis B vaccine coverage remained stagnant at just 25% for several years. The continuously low rates of adult hepatitis B vaccine coverage highlight numerous missed opportunities for prevention. It is impossible to achieve viral hepatitis elimination without significant increases in adult hepatitis B vaccination coverage. 

 

**Read the full letter here.**