To the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP):
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, 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.
** View the full letter here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j2ByXFiwAyHtPRssEGM_cv2sNnJMhcdiQuLL4fWASo4/edit?usp=sharing **
