Hep B vaccine

[e123]

Can anyone help me understand why is Hep B given right at hospital, versus other vaccines are done at 2,4,6 months? I’ve looked through all the CDC stuff and nothing explains why that timing (except worried about silent carriers, etc).

Why isn’t it also given at 2 months, etc? I’d think giving the pertussis at the hospital makes more sense.

 

[bronsontaur]

@e123 I was actually just researching this after seeing a ton of people in my WTE bump group saying they were going to decline because they didn't see the point. I think it boils down to the benefits vastly outweighing the risks, which, as a lawyer is generally how I look at things to give legal advice as well and so I find it fairly compelling: https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/se...orn-nursery-hepatitis-b-vaccine-for-newborns/

A few points I found compelling from this article:

There are 25,000 infants born to mothers that carry the virus every year in the United States that we know of. If something goes wrong and a mother is falsely labeled as negative or unknown status, that baby can have up to a 90% chance of acute infection depending on what phase she is in (immune active with high viral load has the highest risk). If infected, most will develop chronic infection and of those chronically infected 25% will die because of it.

In addition to serving as a safety net and protecting those most vulnerable to the devastating potential outcomes of this infection, we also recommend the newborn dose because it increases the likelihood that the child will go on to get the full series of 3-4 shots and be fully protected. And protected kids can’t spread the infection to the unprotected. And despite claims from the usual suspects of antivaccine rhetoric, the safety and efficacy of this vaccine is firmly established.

 

[bronsontaur]

And I'd assume the reason they don't give pertussis right away is because they encourage Mom's to get TDAP at 27 weeks and that has a pretty good rate (78%) of protecting them until they get vaccinated on their own:
https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/pregnant/mom/get-vaccinated.html#:~:text=Getting%20Tdap%20between%2027%20through,2%20months%20old%20by%2078%25.

 

[e123]

@bronsontaur Thank you! I think this is what I was looking for. So when I read this paragraph, it makes me think that infants are at a higher risk (90%) of not being able to clear even an acute infection:

Most patients over the age of five years who are acutely infected with HBV will clear the virus and go on to benefit from lifelong immunity. But almost 90% of infants and 25%-50% of children between the ages of one and five years will not be so lucky. In contrast, 95% of older children and adults will fight off the virus during the initial exposure.

 

[bronsontaur]

@e123 Yeah, if you've tested negative you're probably negative but it's just really not worth the risk if you're not, was my read. Also, that people forget and life gets busy and next thing you know your child is in daycare being bitten by a possibly unvaxxed kid

 

[e123]

@bronsontaur True. And I was just thinking, how much of the boomer gen is probably those silent carriers since the vaccines wasn’t around? Not that I expect my mother/MiL to bite my child, but I also don’t trust her not to try to kiss my child

 

[seeker1231]

@e123 Its usually given at 2 months here in Canada and was for both my kids.

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-hea...commended-immunization-schedules.html#p1c12a2

 

[e123]

@seeker1231 So it’s not universal standard then. Im in the US and just can’t find anything explaining the CDCs decision.

 

[scaredtodeath]

@e123 Well the true answer it’s universal treatments. It’s easier to give everyone the vacc instead of singling out every mother who might be hep b positive and testing everyone. Labs in a hospital are already running at 110% add every OB patient to that list with an extra test and your gonna get over loaded etc.

 

[angel_sword]

@seeker1231 Same in Germany

 

[mudin]

@e123 https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/by-age/newborn-birth.html#:~:text=Hepatitis%20B%20(HepB)&text=Mothers%20can%20unknowingly%20pass%20the,within%2024%20hours%20of%20birth.&text=If%20you%20have%20hepatitis%20B,within%2012%20hours%20of%20birth.

 

[e123]

@mudin Thanks but I’d assume that’s only if you either aren’t tested or test positive for Hep B. If you test negative, doesn’t seem like that answers why. Other than just overly cautious….

 

[jesuslivesinlockport]

@e123 Ive also heard for business reasons related to public health. The Hep B vaccine is life saving, particularly for people who share needles. It is a horrific disease, and communicable, but not contracted easily. The universe of need for Heb B vaccine is very small. Likewise, the universe of babies at risk of contracting Hep B is very small. That being said, in order for vaccine makers to justify manufacturing vaccine for the small few, a requirement helps to boost uptake/sales. I am shocked that more people do not ask about this vaccine, however in a world where "anti vaccine" is viewed so negatively it does make sense. I was told by multiple pediatricians that this one is not critical like other jabs. We will probably wait until our kiddo chooses it (or not) for themself.

 

[mccleary]

@jesuslivesinlockport The universe of need is going to feel
Differently when your child gets Hep B because they accidentally shared a cup with a kid in pre school who has hep B.

There’s zero profitability in the world of these standard vaccines. There IS profitability though in a lack of disease.

I find it astounding that a person will subscribe to the hatred of insurance companies, submitting that they are totally profit driven. And in the next breath, say that vaccines are a profit mechanism and unnecessary.

Vaccines are largely free. Know why? Because it SAVES the insurance company money. Yes, they don’t want to spend money on you. It’s math. So to think that insurance companies intentionally shoot them selves in the foot is a form of stupidity that borders on miracle

 

[jesuslivesinlockport]

@mccleary The child would have needed to both bleed on the cup and have Hep B. The likelihood of those happening is quite small, considering the huge majority of people who have Hep B know they have it and any parent who is paying attention would know 99% of the time if their child were in a Hep B vulnerable situation. As for insurance and vaccine profitability, I have no investment in convincing you of anything. Im simply saying it would not be financially viable to manufacture Hep B vaccines for the small universe of people that need them. So CDC made a choice that helps keep Hep B vaccines in production. Look it up.

 

[jesuslivesinlockport]

Hep B is transmitted through blood, not saliva. It is easily detected in a blood test thus an infected child would be known and--one would hope--childcare staff could effectively manage blood exposure.

 

[mudin]

@e123 I think it's one of those public health things. Personally, I delayed it for my kids until 2 months.