ATTENTION: PARENTS-TO-BE
The hepatitis B vaccine (for details, visit our Hepatitis B page) is the first vaccine parents need to consider, as it is being given to newborns--with and occasionally without parental consent--in hospitals across the country.
It is important for you to know that administration of the hepatitis b vaccine in newborns is a recommendation, not a requirement. Some parents have been told that they would not be able to bring their baby home if they did not accept this vaccine. This is absolutely false. Some hospitals in Massachusetts have decided that parental consent is not necessary prior to administering this vaccine. Be sure that your healthcare provider knows whether you want your baby to receive this vaccine at birth. If you give birth in a hospital or birthing center, make sure your choice is clearly written in the mother’s chart as well as the baby’s.
If you choose to have your child receive this vaccine, you should be aware that there is a new version that does not contain thimerosal (mercury). This is in response to an Environmental Protection Agency concern that mercury-containing vaccines can, because mercury accumulates in the body, progressively endanger the health of our children. We encourage you to make a point of asking for this newer vaccine.
For further information, visit the National Vaccine Information Center’s hepatitis B webpage.
You can also visit the Center for Disease Control’s hepatitis B webpage.
View the hepatitis B vaccine package insert (Merck’s Recombivax HB).
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