Hepatitis B Vaccine
Hepatitis B is classified as a serious liver infection caused by the Hepatitis B Virus. While most people recover in less than six months, others remain infected for longer periods, resulting in a chronic infection. Such cases raise the risk of liver failure, liver cancer, and long-term liver scarring. Most adults fully recover from Hepatitis B, but children and infants are more apt to develop chronic Hepatitis B illnesses. Hepatitis B spreads between individuals through blood or other body fluids by sharing needles, accidental needlesticks, or sexual contact. Pregnant mothers infected with the virus may also pass it to their newborns. Children are recommended to receive the Hepatitis B vaccine during infancy.
Credit: Mayo Clinic and CDC
The Case For the Vaccine
Estimates suggest that around 1.25 million people become chronically infected with the Hepatitis B Virus in the United States each year. Between thirty and forty percent of these infections were acquired amongst children. Researchers urge parents to vaccinate their children to protect them from scratches, scrapes, and even bites from infected classmates at school.
Credit: Vaccinate Your Family
The Case Against the Vaccine
While researchers urge all parents to vaccinate their children against Hepatitis B, the most common transmission is between infected mothers and babies during birth. If the mother is not infected with Hepatitis B, that risk factor is eliminated, lessening the child’s risk for infection. Additionally, some individuals have felt there is a causal link between Hepatitis B vaccination and the development of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) later in life. Large-scale studies have not proved such a link, but this has cast doubt on the vaccine.
Credit: Unicef – For Every Child and World Health Organization
Conclusion
Choosing to take this vaccine or leave it is a personal decision. If the mother is not infected by Hepatitis B during pregnancy and birth, one of the greatest risk factors is removed. However, the risk of infection later in childhood may prove strong enough for parents to still vaccinate their child.