My ped told me he thinks Hep B is unnecessary for kids and should be delayed until the teen years. We still haven't gotten it. Child is 2 and not in daycare. We will have to get it by school age as it is required for school but are delaying until then. DH and I know we don't have it and we are the only caregivers for our child.

Anonymous wrote:

I am shocked at the number of parents here who seem to think there are "risk factors" and "risky behavior" for Hep B.
You do realize that if your kid it at a playground, playdate, or in a daycare setting you are potentially exposing them to hep B, right?

I guess all these kids are kept at home.

But if your kid has ever been bitten by another child there is a chance he/she could have been exposed and that is why you get vaccinated.

No parent is required to not have their child in school or daycare if their child has hep B. Nor is any childcare worker/nanny, etc required to disclose either.

I'm even more shocked by the poster who thinks that the Hep B vaccine isn't necessary AT ALL.

Anonymous wrote:Around 6 weeks- 3 moths or so, I believe.
The Dr. Sears Vaccine Book is a good resource that tells about each vaccine, each disease, and what is in it. It helps the parent be informed about which vaccines are more important to get at a specific time, and which ones could be spread out. There is the AAP schedule, but also a schedule in the book for spreading them out to avoid combo shots or catering it to the child's surroundings or needs. The CDC has a great tool on their website that shows the safe ranges rather then just the strict 'AT 3 months' that you might feel at the ped office.
My kids have gotten all their vaccines, but Hep B at birth is one that we waited a while for. We also didn't do the eye drops at birth, but we DID do the vitamin K shot. Medical staff do blanket treatments for everybody because it's most convenient and the best way to catch those at risk or who might be missed. Sure, there is always a small risk that any of us could be poked with an infected needle or someone with infected blood on their hands comes into our recovery room, but I was comfortable waiting since we were sure we didn't have hep b or other sexual partners.

The Dr. Sears Vaccine Book is quackery. It's fine to use it if you're just looking for justification for the stuff you've already decided to do anyway even though the science doesn't support it, but don't use it if you're interested in actual science.

http://www.immunize.org/concerns/offit_moser2009.pdf

Here's the abstract: In October 2007, Dr Robert Sears, in response to growing parental concerns about the safety of vaccines, published The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child. Sears’ book is enormously popular, having sold
40 000 copies. At the back of the book, Sears includes “Dr Bob’s Alternative Vaccine Schedule,” a formula by which parents can delay, withhold, separate, or space out vaccines. Pediatricians now confront many parents who insist that their children receive vaccines according to Sears’ schedule, rather than that recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. This article examines the reasons for the popularity of Sears’ book, deconstructs the logic and rationale behind its recommendations, and describes how Sears’ misrepresentation of vaccine science misinforms parents trying to make the right decisions for their children. Pediatrics 2009;123:e164–e169

I am shocked at the number of parents here who seem to think there are "risk factors" and "risky behavior" for Hep B.

You do realize that if your kid it at a playground, playdate, or in a daycare setting you are potentially exposing them to hep B, right?

I guess all these kids are kept at home.

But if your kid has ever been bitten by another child there is a chance he/she could have been exposed and that is why you get vaccinated.

No parent is required to not have their child in school or daycare if their child has hep B. Nor is any childcare worker/nanny, etc required to disclose either.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did it at the ped's office, around 4 weeks.

I'm very pro-vax, but that one is given at birth for social reasons, not medical ones (with obvious exceptions like pp's situation). The population most at risk are the ones least likely to get all their immunizations, so it's on the schedule to be given at birth. I personally wasn't comfortable giving permission for it before he was born, so we just waited to do it with the pediatrician.

How is it "social reasons"? The vaccine is given at birth because there are no risks associated with giving it early, and doing so provides protection for kids who were exposed prenatally, including those whose parents didn't realize they were exposed.

That's a hell of a lot better reason for giving it on that particular day then the fact that we give the Chicken Pox vaccine at 12 months, a decision that was likely made because it's an easier age to remember than say 12 months and a week, or eleven and a half months.

Not that PP, but hep is not transmitted in the same way as chicken pox or many of the other diseases for which children receive vaccines. It's transmitted to children generally only from the mother, and mothers generally only have hep B because they engage in risky behaviors and those behaviors are associated with low rates of vaccination. Giving the vaccine to everyone can cover those children even though their mothers aren't getting care, so we do that even though the majority of children aren't at risk until they are older and start engaging in the risky behaviors - sex, IV drugs, tattoos, etc. I believe that's what PP means by social reasons, not temporal placement on the schedule relative to other early childhood vaccines.

Hep B can also be transmitted in families and in medical facilities. Not everyone who contracts it has engaged in "risky behavior" unless you consider loving and caring for people, to be "risky behavior". Vaccinating infants at birth protects them both from neonatal transmission, and also from future transmission. Spreading misinformation that this is a disease that is only found in people who engage in certain behaviors reduces the likelihood that people will get testing, and increases the likelihood of transmission.

+1

Hep B can be spread through lots of unrisky behaviors - changing diapers with an open wound, cleaning urine, children biting one another, etc. We have a vaccine to prevent it and because of it new cases have gone down.

Hep B is spread through normal human contact. Not necessarily risky behavior.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did it at the ped's office, around 4 weeks.

I'm very pro-vax, but that one is given at birth for social reasons, not medical ones (with obvious exceptions like pp's situation). The population most at risk are the ones least likely to get all their immunizations, so it's on the schedule to be given at birth. I personally wasn't comfortable giving permission for it before he was born, so we just waited to do it with the pediatrician.

How is it "social reasons"? The vaccine is given at birth because there are no risks associated with giving it early, and doing so provides protection for kids who were exposed prenatally, including those whose parents didn't realize they were exposed.

That's a hell of a lot better reason for giving it on that particular day then the fact that we give the Chicken Pox vaccine at 12 months, a decision that was likely made because it's an easier age to remember than say 12 months and a week, or eleven and a half months.

Not that PP, but hep is not transmitted in the same way as chicken pox or many of the other diseases for which children receive vaccines. It's transmitted to children generally only from the mother, and mothers generally only have hep B because they engage in risky behaviors and those behaviors are associated with low rates of vaccination. Giving the vaccine to everyone can cover those children even though their mothers aren't getting care, so we do that even though the majority of children aren't at risk until they are older and start engaging in the risky behaviors - sex, IV drugs, tattoos, etc. I believe that's what PP means by social reasons, not temporal placement on the schedule relative to other early childhood vaccines.

Not true. Health professional here.

Hep B is a series of three shots that doesn't become completely effectively until all three are given - the first is given at birth the last about 6 months later. The goal is to protect the baby in daycare and play settings. When a childcare worker or a another child might expose a baby. Since it is spread through bodily fluids another child's bite could spread it.

First kid at the first pediatrician appt after getting home from the hospital.

Second kid at the hospital.

Around 6 weeks- 3 moths or so, I believe.
The Dr. Sears Vaccine Book is a good resource that tells about each vaccine, each disease, and what is in it. It helps the parent be informed about which vaccines are more important to get at a specific time, and which ones could be spread out. There is the AAP schedule, but also a schedule in the book for spreading them out to avoid combo shots or catering it to the child's surroundings or needs. The CDC has a great tool on their website that shows the safe ranges rather then just the strict 'AT 3 months' that you might feel at the ped office.
My kids have gotten all their vaccines, but Hep B at birth is one that we waited a while for. We also didn't do the eye drops at birth, but we DID do the vitamin K shot. Medical staff do blanket treatments for everybody because it's most convenient and the best way to catch those at risk or who might be missed. Sure, there is always a small risk that any of us could be poked with an infected needle or someone with infected blood on their hands comes into our recovery room, but I was comfortable waiting since we were sure we didn't have hep b or other sexual partners.

With kid #1, before starting preschool.

With kid #2, I realized that I'd gone down the anti-vaccination rabbit hole, and there was no valid reason not to give it when the CDC schedule says to, so -- when the CDC schedule said to, at birth.

We didn't do it at the hospital, although it was offered, b/c our Ped said it was a part of the first combo vaccine that baby would receive. It wouldn't hurt to get it twice, but it wasn't necessary so our Ped suggested we wait.

Did it at school entry-age 5. Not needed before then (I dont think it's needed at all IMO)

Our pediatrician recommended doing it at the one week appointment. That's what we did.

Anonymous wrote:I did it at the ped's office, around 4 weeks.

I'm very pro-vax, but that one is given at birth for social reasons, not medical ones (with obvious exceptions like pp's situation). The population most at risk are the ones least likely to get all their immunizations, so it's on the schedule to be given at birth. I personally wasn't comfortable giving permission for it before he was born, so we just waited to do it with the pediatrician.

+1

zero risk factors for my kids so we deferred until one of the first ped appts. no big deal.

In time for Kindergarten, both kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did it at the ped's office, around 4 weeks.

I'm very pro-vax, but that one is given at birth for social reasons, not medical ones (with obvious exceptions like pp's situation). The population most at risk are the ones least likely to get all their immunizations, so it's on the schedule to be given at birth. I personally wasn't comfortable giving permission for it before he was born, so we just waited to do it with the pediatrician.

How is it "social reasons"? The vaccine is given at birth because there are no risks associated with giving it early, and doing so provides protection for kids who were exposed prenatally, including those whose parents didn't realize they were exposed.

That's a hell of a lot better reason for giving it on that particular day then the fact that we give the Chicken Pox vaccine at 12 months, a decision that was likely made because it's an easier age to remember than say 12 months and a week, or eleven and a half months.

What are you going on about? Vaccines, including chicken pox, have a range to be given during. It does not have to be 12 months on the dot to meet guidelines.