Friday, March 22, 2024

Hepatitis B Vaccine Newborn Dosage

Who Should Get The Hbv Vaccine

Why Do Newborns Get the Hepatitis B Vaccine?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all children and adults up to age 59 should receive the hepatitis B vaccine.

Infants should get their first hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth and complete their doses by age 6 to 18 months.

All unvaccinated children and adults through age 59 should receive the vaccine. Also, unvaccinated adults over the age 60 who are at risk of hepatitis B should get the vaccine.

Adults over age 60 who are not at risk of hepatitis B may also choose to get the shot.

Several types of the HBV vaccine are also safe to administer to pregnant women.

  • people who have had more than one sex partner in the last 6 months
  • men who have sex with men
  • people seeking treatment for a sexually transmitted infection
  • people whose partners or household members have hepatitis B
  • people who inject drugs
  • people who live or work in care facilities
  • people who are on dialysis
  • travelers to countries where hepatitis B is common
  • people with chronic liver disease, HIV, or hepatitis C
  • people who are in jail or prison

People who have diabetes should talk with a healthcare professional about their risk for contracting hepatitis B.

Accelerated Us Children And Adult Hepatitis B Vaccine Schedules

*Please note that the first dose should be given as soon as possible. Additional doses require minimum time intervals between doses in order for the vaccine to be effective.

In some instances, it may be necessary to vaccinate within a short period of time to ensure protection before travel. There are accelerated schedules to provide the highest level of protection over a short period of time. Individuals who need an accelerated schedule must have a booster dose at 1 year to ensure long-term protection. Note that the 2-dose Heplisav-B vaccine will also ensure maximum protection over a 1-month period without the need for a booster dose at 1 year.

4-Dose Vaccine Series for Children and Adults

Engerix-B is a 3-dose vaccine that can be given on an accelerated, four-dose schedule, with 3 shots administered within 2 months, and a booster dose at 1 year to provide maximum long-term protection.

4-Dose Combination Hepatitis A and B Vaccine Series

Twinrix is a 4-dose vaccine that can be given on an accelerated schedule to provide protection against hepatitis A and B. Three doses are administered within 1 month, followed by a booster shot at 1 year. This is a common choice of vaccine for those travelling on short-notice outside the U.S. It is important to complete the booster dose at 1 year, to ensure long-term protection.

2-Dose Vaccine Series

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Us Children And Adult Hepatitis B Vaccine Schedules

*Please note that the first dose should be given as soon as possible. Additional doses require minimum time intervals between doses in order for the vaccine to be effective.

3-Dose Vaccine Series for Children and Adults

The hepatitis B vaccine is an injection that is generally given in the arm as a three-dose series on a 0, 1, and 6-month schedule. Alternative schedules may be considered, noting that a third dose at 6 months, meeting minimum intervals between doses, is needed for maximum, long-term protection. Completing the hepatitis B vaccine series, preferably beginning at birth, will ensure protection against hepatitis B, hepatitis delta and lower the lifetime risk of liver cancer. Greater than 90% of babies and up to 50% of young children who are not vaccinated and are infected with hepatitis B will have lifelong infection, which makes the birth dose essential to their protection.

There are four, 3-dose vaccine brands approved in the U.S.

  • PreHevbrio PreHevbrio is only approved for adults age 18 and over.

2-Dose Vaccine Series

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Persons With Inadequate Immunization Records

Evidence of long term protection against HB has only been demonstrated in individuals who have been vaccinated according to a recommended immunization schedule. Independent of their anti-HBs titres, children and adults lacking adequate documentation of immunization should be considered susceptible and started on an immunization schedule appropriate for their age and risk factors. Refer to Immunization of Persons with Inadequate Immunization Records in Part 3 for additional information.

Who Should Receive The Hepatitis B Vaccine

Impact of Recommendations to Suspend the Birth Dose of Hepatitis B ...

For most people, the hepatitis B vaccine is safe and effective. About 90% of people who receive three vaccine doses are protected against hepatitis B for over 30 years.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends the hepatitis B vaccine for the following groups:

  • All babies, starting just after birth
  • Children and adolescents under 19 years old
  • Adults ages 1959 who have not previously completed vaccination
  • Adults ages 60 and over with a high risk of contracting HBV

Adults ages 60 and over who do not have any hepatitis B risk factors can receive the hepatitis B vaccine, but it is optional.

Hepatitis B spreads when the bodily fluids of an infected person enter another person’s body. Sexual contact is one way it can be spread. A person with HBV can spread it to their baby during childbirth. Other ways in which HBV may be transmitted include:

  • Sharing medical equipment, whether at home or in a hospital setting, with a person who has an HBV infection
  • Sharing syringes with a person who has hepatitis B, such as during injection drug use or at-home piercing or tattooing
  • Sharing personal items, such as razors or toothbrushes, with someone who has hepatitis B
  • Coming into contact with the sores or blood of a person who has hepatitis B

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Why Should I Vaccinate My Newborn Child If I Know That I Am Not Infected With Hepatitis B Virus

Before the hepatitis B vaccine, every year in the United States about 18,000 children were infected with hepatitis B virus by the time they were 10 years old. This statistic is especially important because people are much more likely to develop liver cancer or cirrhosis if they are infected early in life, rather than later in life .

About 9,000 of the 18,000 children infected in the first 10 years of life caught the virus from their mother during birth. However, many young children didn’t catch the disease from their mother. They caught it from either another family member or someone else who came in contact with the child. Because hepatitis B can be transmitted by relatively casual contact with items contaminated with the blood of an infected person, and because many people who are infected with hepatitis B virus don’t know that they have it, it is virtually impossible to be “careful enough” to avoid this infection.

For these reasons, all young children are recommended to receive the hepatitis B vaccine. The best time to receive the first dose is right after birth. This will ensure that the child will be protected as early as possible from catching hepatitis B from people who dont know that they are infected with the virus.

Listen to Dr. Offit explain why newborns get the hepatitis B vaccine by watching this short video, part of the series Talking About Vaccines with Dr. Paul Offit.

I Am A Healthcare Worker Who Did Not Develop Hepatitis B Antibodies After Immunization What Should I Do

Two versions of hepatitis B vaccine are available. One, called Heplisav-B, contains a novel adjuvant that was not present in previous versions used by adults . Some people did not respond to the older version hepatitis B vaccine. In fact, in a group of adults younger than 40 years of age who received two doses of the older version vaccine 75 of 100 were protected. Following the third dose, this number increased to 90 of 100. However, people older than 40 years of age were less likely to respond to the vaccine with increasing age. On the other hand, 90 to 100 of 100 adults 18 years of age and older respond to Heplisav-B, which was approved for use in 2018.

About 5-10 of every 100 children and adults younger than 40 years of age do not respond to the third dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Some of these people will be recommended to get vaccinated again. About 5 of 100 people will still not respond after getting all recommended doses of both series. Note that children younger than 18 years of age cannot get Heplisav-B.

If the people who do not respond to vaccination are determined not to have chronic hepatitis B, they will be reliant on taking precautions to reduce the chance of exposure and relying on those around them for protection. In other words, these people will be reliant on herd immunity.

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How Is The Hepatitis B Vaccine Made

People are protected against hepatitis B virus infection by making an immune response to a protein that sits on the surface of the virus. When hepatitis B virus grows in the liver, an excess amount of this surface protein is made. The hepatitis B vaccine is made by taking the part of the virus that makes surface protein and putting it into yeast cells. The yeast cells then produce many copies of the protein that are subsequently used to make the vaccine. When the surface protein is given to children in the vaccine, their immune systems make an immune response that provides protection against infection with the hepatitis B virus.

The first hepatitis B vaccine was made in the 1980s by taking blood from people infected with hepatitis B virus and separating or purifying the surface protein from the infectious virus. Because blood was used, there was a risk of contaminating the vaccine with other viruses that might be found in blood, such as HIV. Although contamination with HIV was a theoretical risk of the early, blood-derived hepatitis B vaccine, no one ever got HIV from the hepatitis B vaccine. That is because the blood used to make vaccine was submitted to a series of chemical treatments that inactivated any possible contaminating viruses. Today, there is no risk of contaminating the vaccine with other viruses because the surface protein is manufactured in the laboratory.

Why Should My Baby Get The Hepatitis B Shot

Ending hepatitis B with crucial birth dose vaccine
  • Protects your child from against hepatitis B, a potentially serious disease.
  • Protects other people from the disease because children with hepatitis B usually dont have symptoms, but they may pass the disease to others without anyone knowing they were infected.
  • Prevents your child from developing liver disease and cancer from hepatitis B.
  • Keeps your child from missing school or child care and you from missing work.

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Other Reported Adverse Events And Conditions

While serious events and chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis and sudden infant death syndrome have been alleged or reported following HB vaccination, no evidence of a causal association has been demonstrated in a number of studies.

Us Infant Hepatitis B Vaccine Schedules

*Please note that the first dose should be given as soon as possible. Additional doses require minimum time intervals between doses in order for the vaccine to be effective.
3-Dose Vaccine Series for Infants

Since 1991, ALL medically stable infants with a birth weight of at least 2,000 g in the U.S. are recommended to receive the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth. The additional 2 doses are given at 1 month and 6 months of age.

4-Dose Vaccine Combination Series for Infants

Combination vaccines, such as the pentavalent and hexavalent vaccines, include protection against 5 or 6 diseases, including hepatitis B. The first shot is usually given at 6 weeks of age, but in order to protect infants from hepatitis B beginning at birth, a monovalent or single dose of the hepatitis B vaccine is also recommended within 24 hours of birth. The hepatitis B vaccine series can then be completed with the pentavalent or hexavalent vaccine with the recommended schedule.

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How Can I Contract Hepatitis B

You can contract hepatitis B by coming into contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.

Resort activities that may put you at risk for hepatitis B include:

Getting a manicure, pedicure, tattoo, piercing, or acupuncture with improperly sterilized tools

Having sexual contact with an infected partner

Giving first aid to, or receiving it from, an infected person

Receiving a medical or dental procedure with contaminated equipment

Sharing personal grooming items with an infected person

Hepatitis B Vaccine: Canadian Immunization Guide

Hepatitis B

For health professionals

Last partial content update : May 2022

The footnotes in and the accompanying text description for the figure have been revised to align with the corresponding figure in Protocole d’immunisation du Québec, 5e édition from which it was adapted.

Last complete chapter revision :

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How Do Inactivated Viral Vaccines Work

Inactivated viralvaccines are sterile biologic products that provide immunity against viral infections. Inactivated viral vaccines work by stimulating the bodys immune system to produce antibodies against specific types of viruses, and protect a person from becoming infected when exposed to these viruses.

In the case of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes respiratory illness and has led to the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines do not entirely prevent infection but protect vaccinated individuals from serious illness and hospitalization from the disease.

Inactivated viral vaccines contain particles of proteins or genetic material from viruses. Inactivated viral vaccines may also contain substances that preserve and stabilize the vaccine, and enhance immune response. Some viral vaccines are delivered in inactivated harmless viruses such as human adenovirus.

Inactivated viral vaccines may be made from:

  • Surface proteins of the viruses enable the virus to hold on to a human cell, enter inside and replicate.
  • Modified RNA particles from the virus can enter host cells and induce the production of viral antigen, which stimulates an immune response from the body.
  • Recombined DNA material from multiple strains and subtypes of viruses, killed to eliminate disease-causing capability.

Currently, inactivated viral vaccines approved by the FDA protect against viral infectious diseases that include:

  • Coronavirus disease , caused by SARS-Cov-2 virus
  • Routine poliovirus vaccine prophylaxis
  • Adults

    Is There A Vaccine For Hep A And C

    Hepatitis A, B, C, and D are types of viral illness that can affect the liver. While vaccines exist for hepatitis A and B, there is currently no vaccine for hepatitis C. Scientists are working on a vaccine, but challenges specific to hepatitis C have historically made developing the vaccine difficult.

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    Infants Are Recommended To Receive 4 Doses Of Hepatitis B Vaccine

    Infants are recommended to receive 4 doses of hepatitis B vaccine:

    • 1 dose of monovalent paediatric formulation hepatitis B vaccine at birth
    • 3 doses of a paediatric hepatitis Bcontaining vaccine at 2, 4 and 6 months of age .

    Infants can receive the dose scheduled at 2 months of age as early as 6 weeks of age. They should still receive their next scheduled doses at 4 months and 6 months of age.

    How Do You Catch Hepatitis B Virus

    Hepatitis B Vaccine for Babies – Importance and Recommended Schedule

    Blood from a person infected with hepatitis B virus is heavily contaminated with the virus. As a result, contact with blood is the most likely way to catch hepatitis B. Even casual contact with the blood of someone who is infected can cause infection.

    Healthcare workers are at high risk of catching the disease, as are intravenous drug users and newborns of mothers infected with the virus. Sexual contact can also expose people to infection. The virus is also present in low levels in saliva.

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    Benefits Of The Hepatitis B Vaccine

    The main benefit of the vaccine is its effectiveness. The AAP says that if a baby receives the first dose within 24 hours of delivery, the vaccine is 7595% effective in preventing hepatitis B transmission from parent to infant.

    Additionally, if the newborn also receives the medication HBIG at the correct time with a series of follow-up vaccines, the AAP estimates that the infection rate drops to 0.71.1%.

    Therefore, a baby needs to complete the full series of hepatitis B vaccines for the best possible protection.

    Research indicates that hepatitis B vaccines are a safe and effective way to prevent hepatitis B infections.

    According to the CDC , the vaccine is very safe, and the full series of the vaccine provides the highest possible level of protection from a hepatitis B infection.

    Vaccines are subject to constant safety monitoring both during production and once doctors begin to administer them to people. Any signs of a potentially dangerous response to a vaccine would result in immediate recall, meaning they are generally very safe.

    While many people misunderstand or misstate the dangers of some aspects of vaccination, there are still possibly severe conditions that doctors may associate with hepatitis B immunizations.

    A discusses these possible rare complications. However, it is important to note that these results do not mean that the vaccination causes these conditions instead, there may be an association between them.

    Possible conditions include:

    Selected Safety Information For Recombivax Hb Selected Safety Information For Recombivax Hb

    Do not administer RECOMBIVAX HB® to individuals with a history of severe allergic or hypersensitivity reactions after a previous dose of any hepatitis B-containing vaccine or to any component of RECOMBIVAX HB, including yeast.

    The vial stopper and the syringe plunger stopper and tip cap contain dry natural latex rubber, which may cause allergic reactions in latex-sensitive individuals.

    Apnea following intramuscular vaccination has been observed in some infants born prematurely. Decisions about when to administer an intramuscular vaccine, including RECOMBIVAX HB, to infants born prematurely should be based on consideration of the individual infants medical status and the potential benefits and possible risks of vaccination. For RECOMBIVAX HB, this assessment should include consideration of the mothers hepatitis B antigen status and high probability of maternal transmission of hepatitis B virus to infants born to mothers who are HBsAg positive if vaccination is delayed.

    Hepatitis B vaccination should be delayed until 1 month of age or hospital discharge in infants weighing < 2000 g if the mother is documented to be HBsAg negative at the time of the infants birth. Infants weighing < 2000 g born to HBsAg positive or HBsAg unknown mothers should receive vaccine and hepatitis B immune globulin in accordance with ACIP recommendations if HBsAg status cannot be determined.

    Vaccination with RECOMBIVAX HB may not protect all individuals.

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