Presidential Document2024-11395
National Hepatitis Testing Day, 2024
Primary source
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Published
May 22, 2024
Signed
May 17, 2024
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 100 (Wednesday, May 22, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 22, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 44909-44910]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11395]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 100 / Wednesday, May 22, 2024 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 44909]]
Proclamation 10763 of May 17, 2024
National Hepatitis Testing Day, 2024
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Millions of Americans have viral hepatitis, an
infection of the liver that can be cured or managed
with the right treatment, but every year, it takes the
lives of thousands of Americans who for too long did
not realize that they were sick. Testing saves lives.
On National Hepatitis Testing Day, we encourage folks
everywhere to help spread the word and get tested, and
we commit to continuing our work to get every American
the high-quality health care they need to live long,
healthy lives.
Hepatitis C, the most common strain of the disease, is
spread through contact with infected blood. It can take
years to cause noticeable symptoms, leaving many folks
unaware that anything is wrong. As a result, they can
unintentionally spread the virus; pregnant women with
hepatitis C can, for example, pass it on to their
newborns. Left untreated, it can lead to cirrhosis,
liver failure, liver cancer, and even death.
Fortunately for patients and their families, there is a
cure that is 95 percent effective, once folks know to
seek it. But it can be very expensive for people
without health insurance, putting it out of reach for
too many Americans in need, and that is wrong.
We have the tools to end this public health threat,
saving thousands of lives. I have proposed a
comprehensive plan that would speed up testing,
increase access to life-saving medication, train more
medical providers, and boost research into a vaccine.
For example, my plan would simplify testing by
accelerating the availability of point-of-care
diagnostics, which means patients could be diagnosed in
a single visit rather than having to follow up with
multiple tests. It would launch an innovative
subscription model for hepatitis C drugs, which would
expand access to life-saving treatments for individuals
who are uninsured, enrolled in Medicaid, eligible to
receive healthcare from the Indian Health Service, or
incarcerated. It would invest in health centers and
programs that deliver hepatitis care and in training
more health care professionals, including programs that
serve Black and Native communities--who are
disproportionately affected by hepatitis C. It also
supports efforts to raise awareness of the critical
benefits of testing and treatment, reaching out
directly to communities with high infection rates,
including people who are incarcerated or in drug
treatment programs. My Budget proposes investments that
would help prevent serious illness and avoid serious
complications from hepatitis C so that we can save
lives and finally end hepatitis C in America once and
for all.
At the same time, we are working to prevent hepatitis
B, the second most common strain of viral hepatitis,
which ultimately contributes to as many as 25 percent
of people dying prematurely from liver-related
diseases. Over 600,000 Americans, many from Asian
American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander
communities, are living with a chronic hepatitis B
infection. The good news is that there is already a
hepatitis B vaccine that can save lives. The Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention urges all adults
under 60 to be screened and vaccinated and for 30 years
has recommended that children be vaccinated as well.
[[Page 44910]]
America has always been a place where we can get big
things done together. That includes beating hepatitis
once and for all. This work begins with every American
taking steps to protect their own health by asking your
health care provider about getting tested for hepatitis
B and C and getting vaccinated for hepatitis B. My
Administration will keep pushing to advance prevention,
testing, treatment, and cures. Together, we can save
lives.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 19, 2024,
as National Hepatitis Testing Day. I encourage all
Americans to join in activities that will increase
awareness about viral hepatitis and what we can do to
prevent and treat it.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
seventeenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
eighth.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2024-11395
Filed 5-21-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 22, 2024.
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