- Knowledgebase: Immunization Questions
- Questions about immunizations, side effects, and not vaccinating.
- 15. Why should I immunize my child against Hepatitis B? - Top
- Hepatitis B (Hep-B) is a viral infection which can range from no symptoms at all to a chronic infection that slowly destroys the liver, or a sudden fatal liver infection. Hepatitis B is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the US.
Hepatitis B is transmitted primarily by contact with blood, body fluids, sexual contact, and from mother to baby through the placenta.
Why give the vaccine to babies? I don't know. First, if you are going to wipe out a virus from the planet, you have to start somewhere and it makes sense to start from a known starting point, even though babies are at a fairly low risk of the disease.
We certainly want to vaccinate teenagers who will become at risk through both sexual contact and trauma/transfusions, and this is being done.
So, there are two timepoints (infancy and teenage) where the vaccine is being given. Therefore in the next 12 years, everybody from birth to 24 will be vaccinated, covering most of the high risk population.
Hepatitis B vaccine is fairly harmless. I have never heard of a severe reaction to it. On the other hand, I have personal experience with a family member who underwent a liver transplant due to liver failure from hepatitis (not hepatitis B) and it has not been pretty. Liver transplants are not fun, and they are not cheap. - Updated: March 14, 2001
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