The Claim:
An American cardiologist has taken to Twitter to claim that Hepatitis vaccines are not necessary or safe for newborns, pointing to a claim that Hep B vaccines have only 5 days of safety monitoring.
The Facts:
This claim relies on package insert data, as opposed to actual clinical trial information. Vaccine inserts are legal documents and not medical or research documents. Looking at the actual clinical trial information for the Hep B vaccine shows that the “five days” were specifically for injection site non-serious adverse events (NSAEs). Researchers watched for serious events for the length of the study (5 months for that particular study), 14 days for systemic NSAEs (i.e., fevers), and five only days for the injection site NSAEs.
Hep B infection can lead to chronic Hep B. Chronic Hep B can last a lifetime and lead to serious illnesses such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. The younger you are when you get hepatitis B, the more likely it will become chronic. There is no cure for hepatitis B, but vaccines can prevent it.
The widespread implementation of Hep B vaccination programs, including the birth dose, has led to significant reductions in Hep B worldwide. By immunizing newborns, the goal is to achieve a high vaccination coverage rate and create a population with decreased Hep B transmission, ultimately reducing the burden of related diseases.
Disclaimer: Science is always evolving and our understanding of these topics may have evolved too since this was originally posted. Be sure to check out our most recent posts and browse the latest Just the Facts Topics for the latest.
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