Hep B Free

11/19/2025

A little late but it was such an amazing experience to attend Liver Meeting for the first time and be invited to speak in a major session entitled “The Road to Cure and Elimination of Viral Hepatitis B and C: Breaking Barriers for Patients and Communities” I was able to speak on the work Hep B Free does in the community as well as challenges we face. Importantly, my call to action was to encourage listeners to embrace innovation and think bigger in our fight against hepatitis B. We must promote structured collaboration between research, medicine, patients, and advocates, aim for systemic change at policy or health system level, and embrace technology infrastructure that can make our work scalable, sustainable and replicable.

In this effort we showcased Hep B Free’s collaboration with HepBNow (founder by myself and Robert Chang), our new digital platform allowing local hep B coalitions to anchor and highlight their work. Check out our own website (sfhepbfree.org) as well as Hep B Free LA’s (hepbfreela.org) and Hep B Free Arizona’s (hepbfreeaz.hepbnow.com). We are excited to partner with orgs to explore grant funding so that the platform and the technical assistance Hep B Free provides can remain affordable and sustainable. We envision empowering dozens of local coalitions to fight hepatitis B and then coordinate with each other.

If you are tired of small siloed projects and want to be part of a scalable solution. Please reach out to me and Robert and we would love to tell you more. Join our efforts to make the nation hepatitis B free!

The conference was also an amazing opportunity to connect with fellow patients, advocates and leaders. It was great connecting with Dr. John Ward, Dr. Samuel So, Dr. Vivian Huang and the medical students heading up Hep B Free Arizona, Chari Cohen, Wendy Lo, Dr. Will Holt, Dr. Prabhu Gounder and so many others. I am exited to continue our work.

We still have so much to do and need to embrace innovation and bigger initiatives if we want any hope to reach 2030 goals.

Thank you so much AASLD for your support and the invitation to speak.

11/10/2025

What a great first AASLD 2025. Thank you to all the allies and partners i met. We look forward to working with you!!!

11/07/2025

11/05/2025

Last Thursday, we hosted our 18th Annual Hep B Free Gala! The Hep B Free Team would like to thank the sponsors, donors, community partners, and volunteers who made the event possible. The event was filled with inspiring stories and a focus on building community to empower one another to continue the fight for a Hep B-free society. Thank you for staying in this fight with us! We look forward to continuing to build resilience against Hep B!

For full details of the event, please visit: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/4ed0a7758c.html

10/20/2025

OUR GALA IS 3 DAYS AWAY! There’s still time for you to get your ticket! We are very excited for our 18th Annual B A Hero Celebration and Fundraiser Gala. Come join us for a fun night to honor the work that has been done over the year on Hep B advocacy.

Here’s the link for you to get your ticket: https://hepbfree-2025gala.eventbrite.com/

10/01/2025

Join us this weekend at the 2025 Sunset Autumn Moon Festival and Health Fair! The Hep B Free team will be there to provide free hepatitis B screening for attendees. See you there!

10/01/2025

October is Liver Cancer Awareness Month! Remember, Hepatitis B can be a silent killer with no symptoms until it is too late. Ask your doctor for a hepatitis B test. It is almost always covered under your insurance. It could save your life.

09/30/2025

Recently, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to table its planned vote on changing the hepatitis B birth dose recommendation for infants born to mothers with negative HBV status.

The proposal under consideration was to revise the current universal birth dose recommendation.

Community organizers and members were present to express their support for hepatitis B vaccination. Our executive director, Richard So, was present to provide thoughtful discussions that emphasized the importance of the hepatitis B birth dose recommendation. Richard and the rest of the Hep B Free team remain active and committed to the fight for hepatitis B prevention and cure. Hep B advocate and our ally, Wendy Lo, also shared her story.

Here’s the video: https://www.youtube.com/live/_9ChY9SpPlY Richard begins to speak at 5:45:46

While the decision not to change any existing hepatitis B recommendations is encouraging, we remain fearful that this may be changed at any time. The uncertainty is concerning. The Trump administration continues to consider revising childhood vaccine recommendations. Read the article below to understand what that means to you and your family:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/24/how-to-get-covid-mmrv-hepatitisb-vaccines.html

09/15/2025

Join us at our annual gala! It's a fun reception style event with an elegant buffet, open bar, high energy fundraising events, (raffle and silent auction) and a celebration of all the hep B work we did this year.
https://conta.cc/3VSmXYc

Email from Hep B Free You won't want to miss out. Grab a ticket today!   THURSDAY, OCT. 23RD 2025 | 6PM - 9PM 18th Annual Hep B Free "Be a Hero" Gala WHERE: InterContinental Hotel San Francisco 888 Ho

09/11/2025

Despite potential federal financial challenges, scientists and advocates are committed to finding a cure for Hep B. Read this article to see how Dr. Maurizio Bonacini and his team are working on a cure for the disease.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/09/01/bay-area-doctor-pursues-cure-for-chronic-hepatitis-b-as-prevention-falters/

08/29/2025

Of the nearly 300 million people living with chronic hepatitis b, only a small portion receive the proper and timely diagnosis and care. Read more about it as well as how treatment can be extended to more people who need it in this ContagionLive article.

https://www.contagionlive.com/view/global-study-finds-gaps-in-hepatitis-b-diagnosis-treatment-and-care-cascade

08/28/2025

Both Hepatitis B and C can be life threatening infections, so knowing the difference between the two is important. Where hep b has a vaccination, hep c has a cure. Read more in this article from the WHO.

https://www.who.int/thailand/news/feature-stories/detail/how-to-vaccinate-and-protect-against-hepatitis-b-and-c