Information About Hepatitis B Vaccine

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

Babies And Hepatitis B Vaccination

Pregnant women have a routine blood test for hepatitis B as part of their antenatal care.

Babies born to mothers infected with hepatitis B need to be given a dose of the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of their birth, followed by further doses at 4, 8, 12 and 16 weeks of age, plus a final dose when they’re 1 year old.

Babies of mothers identified by the blood test as particularly infectious might also be given an injection of HBIG at birth on top of the hepatitis B vaccination to give them rapid protection against infection.

All babies born to mothers infected with hepatitis B should be tested at 1 year of age to check if they have become infected with the virus.

Managing Fever After Immunisation

Common side effects following immunisation are usually mild and temporary . Specific treatment is not usually required.

There are a number of treatment options that can reduce the side effects of the vaccine such as giving extra fluids to drink and not overdressing if there is a fever.

Although routine use of paracetamol after vaccination is not recommended, if fever is present, paracetamol can be given check the label for the correct dose or speak with your pharmacist, especially when giving paracetamol to children.

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Hepatitis A And B Vaccine Side Effects

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives difficult breathing swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Keep track of any and all side effects you have after receiving this vaccine. When you receive a booster dose, you will need to tell the doctor if the previous shot caused any side effects.

You should not receive a booster vaccine if you had a life-threatening allergic reaction after the first shot.

You may feel faint after receiving this vaccine. Some people have had seizure like reactions after receiving this vaccine. Your doctor may want you to remain under observation during the first 15 minutes after the injection.

Hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccine may cause serious side effects. Call your doctor at once if you have:

• numbness, pain, tingling, weakness, burning or prickly feeling, vision or hearing problems, trouble breathing

• red or blistering skin rash or

• easy bruising or bleeding .

Common side effects of hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccine may include:

• redness or tenderness where the shot was given

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report vaccine side effects to the US Department of Health and Human Services at 1-800-822-7967.

Who Is More Likely To Get Hepatitis B

People are more likely to get hepatitis B if they are born to a mother who has hepatitis B. The virus can spread from mother to child during birth. For this reason, people are more likely to have hepatitis B if they

• were born in a part of the world where 2 percent or more of the population has hepatitis B infection
• were born in the United States, didnt receive the hepatitis B vaccine as an infant, and have parents who were born in an area where 8 percent or more of the population had hepatitis B infection

People are also more likely to have hepatitis B if they

• are infected with HIV, because hepatitis B and HIV spread in similar ways
• have lived with or had sex with someone who has hepatitis B
• have had more than one sex partner in the last 6 months or have a history of sexually transmitted disease
• are men who have sex with men
• are injection drug users
• work in a profession, such as health care, in which they have contact with blood, needles, or body fluids at work
• live or work in a care facility for people with developmental disabilities
• have been on kidney dialysis
• live or work in a prison
• had a blood transfusion or organ transplant before the mid-1980s

In the United States, hepatitis B spreads among adults mainly through contact with infected blood through the skin, such as during injection drug use, and through sexual contact.12

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When To Delay Or Avoid Hepb Immunization

Doctors delay giving the vaccine to babies who weigh less than 4 pounds, 7 ounces at birth whose mothers do not have the virus in their blood. The baby will get the first dose at 1 month of age or when the baby is discharged from the hospital.

The vaccine is not recommended if your child:

• is currently sick, although simple colds or other minor illnesses should not prevent immunization
• had a serious allergic reaction after an earlier dose of the vaccine or is allergic to bakers yeast

How Is A Hepatitis B Vaccine Given

A health care provider gives the hepatitis B vaccine. The vaccine is given as a shot injected into a muscle, usually in the arm for adults and children older than 1 year and in the thigh for infants and children younger than 1 year. Vaccination with a hepatitis B vaccine is usually given as a series of injections over a period of time, depending on the specific brand of the vaccine. Read any printed information that your health care provider gives you about the hepatitis B vaccine.

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Immunisation Against Hepatitis B

The current Australian immunisation program provides free hepatitis B vaccine to protect all children against the hepatitis B virus.

A full course of hepatitis B injections must be given for a child to be protected. It is recommended that this course begins within 24 hours of birth with a vaccine against hepatitis B alone. Further doses are routinely given at 2 months , 4 months and 6 months of age, as a combination vaccine.

Vaccination is the best protection against hepatitis B infection. In Victoria a free hepatitis B vaccine is available for a number of groups at high risk, including but not limited to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, men who have sex with men, and people living with HIV.

The adult course involves 3 doses of the vaccine over 6 months and gives protection to about 95 per cent of people. Once you have had the 3 doses, you can have a blood test to see if you are protected.

Hepatitis B Adult Vaccine Dosing Information

Usual Adult Dose for Hepatitis B Prophylaxis:

Primary Vaccination:Engerix-B:19 years and younger: Three doses intramuscularly on a 0, 1, and 6 month schedule20 years and older: Three doses intramuscularly on a 0, 1, and 6 month scheduleHeplisav-B: Two doses intramuscularly one month apartRecombivax-HB: 19 years and younger: Three doses intramuscularly on a 0, 1, and 6 month schedule 20 years and older: Three doses intramuscularly on a 0, 1, and 6 month schedule Known or Presumed Hepatitis B Exposure:Engerix-B : Use recommended doses of on a 0, 1, and 6 month schedule OR a 0, 1, 2, and 12 month schedule.Recombivax-HB: Refer to recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices

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How Safe Is The Hepatitis B Vaccine

The hepatitis B vaccine is totally safe for most people. Most babies, kids, and adults have no problems at all when they get the vaccine. In fact, more than 100 million people in the U.S. have gotten the hepatitis B vaccine.

Like all medicines, the hepatitis B vaccine may have some mild side effects: soreness, change in skin color, swelling, or itching around where you get the shot, or a slight fever. But these things arent serious and usually go away pretty quickly. Theres an extremely small risk of having an allergic reaction to the vaccine.

If you get dizzy, feel your heart beating really fast, have a high fever, feel weak, break out in hives, or have trouble breathing, get medical help right away. But again, the risk of having an allergy is super small.

You CANT get hepatitis from the hepatitis vaccine.

Why Is The Hepatitis B Vaccine Important

Because of the vaccine, cases of acute hepatitis B have decreased by a lot in the United States. But chronic hepatitis B is still common up to 2.2 million people in the United States have it. Chronic hepatitis B can lead to serious liver problems and even death.

Getting vaccinated is the best way to prevent hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B is a liver disease caused by a virus. There are 2 types of hepatitis B:

• Acute hepatitis B
• Chronic hepatitis B

Many children who get acute hepatitis B dont have any symptoms, but most adults do. Symptoms may include:

• Dark pee or clay-colored poop
• Pain in the muscles, joints, and stomach

Acute hepatitis B symptoms usually last a few weeks but they can last as long as 6 months.

If the acute hepatitis B infection does not go away after 6 months, its considered a chronic hepatitis B infection. Most people who have chronic hepatitis B dont have symptoms at first. But chronic hepatitis B is a lifelong illness that can lead to serious and possibly deadly liver problems, like:

• Has sex with a person who has hepatitis B
• Touches the blood or open sores of a person who has hepatitis B

All children and most adults need to get the hepatitis B vaccine.

Infants and children

All children need to get the hepatitis B vaccine as part of their routine vaccine schedule.

Children need 3 doses of the vaccine at the following ages:

• Birth for the first dose
• 1 through 2 months for the second dose
• 6 through 18 months for the third dose

Adults

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A Look At Each Vaccine: Hepatitis B Vaccine

View larger image The hepatitis B vaccine is given to prevent the severe liver disease that can develop when children or adults are infected with hepatitis B virus. The hepatitis B vaccine is given as a series of three shots. The first dose is given within 24 hours of birth. The second dose is given one to two months after the first dose, and the third dose is given between 6 months and 18 months of age. The vaccine is also recommended for those up to 60 years of age who have not previously received it and those 60 years and older who are at increased risk or who simply want the protection afforded by vaccination.

How Do Doctors Treat The Complications Of Hepatitis B

If chronic hepatitis B leads to cirrhosis, you should see a doctor who specializes in liver diseases. Doctors can treat the health problems related to cirrhosis with medicines, minor medical procedures, and surgery. If you have cirrhosis, you have an increased chance of liver cancer. Your doctor may order blood tests and an ultrasound or another type of imaging test to check for liver cancer.

If chronic hepatitis B leads to liver failure or liver cancer, you may need a liver transplant.

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What Is The Recommended Dosage

For all persons aged 12 years and above, SAGE recommends two doses , 4-8 weeks apart given intramuscularly into the deltoid muscle.

For children aged 5 to 11 years SAGE recommends two doses given intramuscularly into the deltoid muscle and provided 4-8 weeks apart, preferentially 8 weeks.

For infants and children aged 6 months to 4 years, the recommended schedule is three doses : a schedule of two doses 3 weeks apart followed by a third dose at least 8 weeks after the second dose are recommended according to the label. However, countries could consider extending the interval between the first and second dose up to 8 weeks.

Compliance with the full schedule is recommended and the same product can be used for both doses.

SAGE recommends that severe and moderately immunocompromised persons, including children, should be offered an additional dose of vaccine, as part of the primary series. This is due to the fact that this group is less likely to respond adequately to vaccination following a standard primary vaccination series and are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease.

How Do You Catch Hepatitis B Virus

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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The Body’s Natural Response

A pathogen is a bacterium, virus, parasite or fungus that can cause disease within the body. Each pathogen is made up of several subparts, usually unique to that specific pathogen and the disease it causes. The subpart of a pathogen that causes theformation of antibodies is called an antigen. The antibodies produced in response to the pathogens antigen are an important part of the immune system. You can consider antibodies as the soldiers in your bodys defense system. Eachantibody, or soldier, in our system is trained to recognize one specific antigen. We have thousands of different antibodies in our bodies. When the human body is exposed to an antigen for the first time, it takes time for the immune system torespond and produce antibodies specific to that antigen.

In the meantime, the person is susceptible to becoming ill.

This means that if the person is exposed to the dangerous pathogen in the future, their immune system will be able to respond immediately, protecting against disease.

This Vaccine Side Effects

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction or a severe skin reaction .

You should not receive a booster vaccine if you had a life-threatening allergic reaction after the first shot.

Keep track of any and all side effects you have after receiving this vaccine. When you receive a booster dose, you will need to tell the doctor if the previous shot caused any side effects.

Hepatitis B adult vaccine may cause serious side effects. Call your doctor at once if you have:

• a light-headed feeling, like you might pass out

• seizure-like muscle movements or

• redness, pain, swelling, or a lump where the shot was given.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report vaccine side effects to the US Department of Health and Human Services at 1-800-822-7967.

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Hepatitis B Vaccine Is Also Recommended For The Following People:

• People whose sex partners have hepatitis B
• Sexually active persons who are not in a long-term monogamous relationship
• People seeking evaluation or treatment for a sexually transmitted disease
• Victims of sexual assault or abuse
• Men who have sexual contact with other men
• People who share needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment
• People who have household contact with someone infected with the hepatitis B virus
• Healthcare and public safety workers at risk for exposure to blood or body fluids
• Residents and staff of facilities for developmentally disabled persons
• People living in jail or prison
• Travelers to regions with increased rates of hepatitis B
• People with chronic liver disease, kidney disease on dialysis, HIV infection, infection with hepatitis C, or diabetes

Hepatitis B vaccine may be given as a stand-alone vaccine, or as part of a combination vaccine .

Hepatitis B vaccine may be given at the same time as other vaccines.

Hepatitis B Employer Vaccination Program

Program Purpose:

Hepatitis B Vaccination protection is required to be provided by Employers for their Employees who are considered to have occupational exposure* to blood and other potentially infectious materials .

As defined in the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030, the HBV and vaccination administration must be offered at No Cost to the Employee. The HBV must also be available to receive at a reasonable time and place for the Employee.

To assist Employers with providing an HBV to their Employees who have occupational exposure Kinney Drugs has created the Hep-B Employer Vaccination Program. This program will allow Employers the ability to set-up access for these Employees to obtain an HBV with ease at a Local Kinney Drugs of their choice.

*Employees considered to have occupational exposure include but are not limited to: healthcare workers, emergency responders, morticians, first-aid personnel, correctional officers and laundry workers in hospitals and commercial laundries that service healthcare or public safety institutions.

Enrollment Information:

Employers who request to participate in the HBV program will be contacted by a Kinney Drugs Patient Care Center representative to complete the enrollment process.

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