Of all the vaccines that Americans typically receive, most of them are well known, like varicella and HPV. One of the forgotten vaccines is the Hepatitis B vaccine, often commonly referred to as HepB. According to the
CDC’s vaccine schedule, this vaccine should be given first at four weeks. However, many antivaccine parents argue that children do not need a vaccine for a sexually transmitted disease so early in life. HepB is not exclusively spread by semen, but also blood, from open sores and sharing needles, etc. Infection with HepB can range from fairly insignificant to life-changing, resulting in a chronic disease or liver cancer. According to the
CDC, approximately 90% of infants infected with HepB will develop chronic HepB and up to 1.4 million Americans have chronic HepB. Because of the complications associated with chronic HepB, such as liver failure, damage, or cancer, 2,000 to 4,000 people die every year. I think that doctors should educate their patients more on the severity of this disease because I believe that many parents are not fully aware of the effects of HepB like they are with more common diseases. Don’t hesitate to vaccinate your child—it could save them later on!
Image from: The University of Maryland-- http://www.umm.edu/patiented/articles/hepatitis_b_000444.htm
People (Jenny McCarthy...) need to just start vacinating their children and trusting that the vaccines are safe. I like the idea of using the severity of diseases as a scare tactic to make patients listen and get vaccinated on schedle. Parents who want to avoid vaccines like Hep B becase their child is not sexually active are not thinking clearly. Accidents can happen, and it is very awkward for a parent to decide when their child is sexually active and ready to be vaccinated. I don't know many teenagers who are going to say "Hey mom, my girlfriend and I are having sex this Friday. Let's go get vaccinated." Doctors need to be more encouraging and parents need to get real.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the sentiment you express here that parents should be better educated about both the dangers of Hep B and its mode of transmission. It seems to me like the majority of parents who refuse the Hep B vaccine do so because they feel that Hep B is strictly a sexually transmitted disease when the reality is that it can be transmitted through contact with blood as well: something as innocuous as sharing a razor could result in exposure, just one shaving cut and you could get Hep B. I also agree that educating parents on just how harmful Hep B can be would help raise the immunization rates, as showing parents just how dangerous leaving their child susceptible to Hep B is may make them trust in vaccines a little more.
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