Health Department Awarded $1M Grant To Reduce Hepatitus Infection

LONG BEACH, CA — The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services was awarded a $1 million grant to enhance care and reduce hepatitis B infections.

Long Beach is the first and only local health jurisdiction to receive the California Department of Public Health's Hepatitis B Demonstration Project Grant in California. The grant will enable Long Beach to enhance existing hepatitis B services by providing more resources to the community.

"The project will prioritize serving communities impacted by or at risk of HBV infection, with a focus on Long Beach’s Asian American and Pacific Islander populations, as well as those with history of substance use," city officials said in a statement.

The initiative intends to reduce acute hepatitis B infection and provide more access to virus screening, vaccination and linkage to care. This will help advance the collective effort to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, officials said.