Hepatitis B Vaccination

Posted By Dr. Mercola | July 07 2011 | 30,163 ie!s

The website Green Med Info has assembled 44 articles which together list 60 diseases or adverse unintended consequences associated with hepatitis B vaccination. mong the problems the vaccination ma! cause are"

utoimmune inflammator! pol!neuropath! Multiple sclerosis naph!lactic shoc# and death in infants $hronic arthritis utism Bell%s pals!

ccording to one of the studies lin#ed on Green Med Info" "Evidence ... suggests that hepatitis B vaccine is positively associated with adverse health outcomes in the general population of US children." &or more information' !ou can clic# the lin# below. There is no vaccine that gets me more upset than hepatitis B. There are two primar! reasons for this. It is given to virtuall! ever! newborn in the hospital and man! times without parents% consent shortl! after the child is born. If the parent chooses not to have their ()*hour*old newborn vaccinated in the newborn nurser!' it ta#es enormous effort on the parent%s part to ma#e sure this vaccine is not given without their informed consent before the bab! leaves the hospital. +econdl! this vaccine given on the da! of birth is the least ,ustifiable of an! vaccine that I can thin# of. child can -./0 get the disease from I1 drug abuse' se2ual activit! with an infected partner' a blood transfusion using contaminated blood' -3 from the mother. There are few or no detectable antibodies in the blood of most children within 4*(0 !ears after the! are vaccinated so booster shots will probabl! be recommended b! government officials in the future for children entering adolesence. -bviousl! the onl! real threat during infanc! is if a child is born to an infected mother. +o wh! not screen // pregnant women for the disease and onl! give the vaccine to those infants whose mothers actuall! test positive for hepatitis B5 That polic! would be a lot less e2pensive' as well as a lot safer for the ma,orit! of babies born in the 6nited +tates. lso what about the side effects associated with adverse health outcomes in the general population of 6+ children5 7ow about one lin#ed to serious autoimmune disorders' autism' Bell%s pals!' multiple sclerosis'

anaph!lactic shoc# and death5 8ust one vaccination' hepatitis B' has been lin#ed to all of the above and more' !et continues to be part of the standard government*recommended childhood vaccination schedule' with the first dose given at () hours of age in the newborn nurser! of most hospitals.

"n #nusually Hi$% &u'(er o) "d erse *eactions

3outine use of the hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns began in (99(' and according to the 1accine dverse :vent 3eporting +!stem ;1 :3+<' operated ,ointl! b! the 6.+. $enters for =isease $ontrol and >revention ;$=$< and the 6.+. &ood and =rug dministration ;&= <' there were ?6'4@@ officiall! reported adverse reactions to hepatitis B vaccines between (99) and )00A. -f these' (4'@00 were serious enough to cause hospitaliBation' life*threatening health events or permanent disabilities. &urther' 4@( people were reported to have =I:= following hepatitis B vaccination ** and this is li#el! an underestimate because onl! a fraction of the serious health problems' including deaths' following vaccination are ever ac#nowledged. This serious underreporting is due to an unwillingness of man! doctors and vaccine providers to report vaccine*related in,uries and deaths and also due to a lac# of public awareness about how to recogniBe signs and s!mptoms of vaccine reactions. &or instance' when babies die after hep B vaccinations' most of the time their deaths are automaticall! attributed to +I=+ ;+udden Infant =eath +!ndrome< without investigation into whether the vaccine caused the bab!%s sudden death. $ommon reactions to the vaccine include fatigue' muscle wea#ness' fever' headache' irritabilit!' and ,oint pain. But there have been reports of disabling neurological and immunological disorders that have developed following hepatitis B vaccinations as well' including" Multiple sclerosis ;M+< =iabetes Idiopathic Thromboc!topenia purpura 1isual and hearing impairments' including optic neuritis Guillain Barre s!ndrome 3heumatoid arthritis Bell%s >als! /upus

$onvulsions and brain disorders Immune d!sfunction such as encephalitis ;brain swelling< and brain dem!elination >ancreatitis utism spectrum disorders

stud! published +eptember )009 in nnals of :pidemiolog! also found that giving hepatitis B vaccine to infant bo!s more than tripled their ris# for an autism spectrum disorder. This was doubl! concerning because an earlier stud! b! the same researcher group' using a different database' found the same results. There are more reports of serious adverse reactions in children than there are cases of childhood hepatitis B reported in the 6nited +tatesC &rom (990 to )00)' there were a total of ,ust (?'@)9 cases of acute hepatitis B reported among children aged (9 and !ounger' and as the $=$ stated"

"The incidence among adolescents aged 15 1! years was consistently higher than the incidence among younger age groups." Dhich begs the question' wh! are babies being vaccinated for this disease5

+%y is t%e Hepatitis B Vaccine *eco''ended,

7epatitis B is a viral infection that affects !our liver' and spreads the same wa! as I=+ ** through direct contact with the bod! fluids ;particularl! blood and semen< of an infected person. There are two primar! circumstances in which !our bab! would be at significant ris# for contracting hepatitis B and both are quite rare in the 6.+." (. If !ou are pregnant and are a carrier for the hepatitis B virus' !our bab! could be at ris# for being infected during childbirth. 7owever' !ou can easil! find out if !ou are hepatitis B positive b! getting tested while pregnant. ). 0our infant could be at ris# for hepatitis B infection b! receiving a blood transfusion using hepatitis B infected blood. In merica' all blood products are required to receive proper screening for hepatitis B virus and other pathogens prior to use. There is no wa! to achieve (00 percent safet! with blood transfusions' however. 6niversal hepatitis B vaccination might be a good idea I& the vaccines were completel! safe and gave lifelong immunit! ** but as the $=$ states' it%s currentl! not #nown how long immunit! lasts when children are vaccinated at birth" ""mong vaccinated cohorts who initiated #epatitis B vaccination at birth$ long term follow up studies are ongoing to determine the duration of vaccine induced immunity." +o wh! are babies vaccinated at birth' if it%s #nown the mother does not have hepatitis B5 The $=$ states" " % because errors or delays in documenting$ testing$ and reporting maternal #Bs"g status can and do occur$ administering the first dose of #epatitis B vaccine soon after birth to all infants acts as a safety net, reducing the risk for perinatal infection when maternal HBsAg status is either unknown or incorrectly documented at delivery. "lso$ initiating the #epatitis B vaccine series at birth has been shown to increase a child&s li'elihood of completing the vaccine series on schedule." In other words' if !ou%re pregnant and have tested negative for hepatitis B' it%s advised that !ou vaccinate !our bab! an!wa!' ,ust in case the test was wrong ** and because the $=$ believes !ou%re more li#el! to adhere to their dictated schedule if !ou start earl!' ,ust hours after birth. It is important to be tested for hepatitis B if !ou%re pregnant' as it%s possible to have a chronic infection with no s!mptoms and not #now it. 7owever' if !ou use the $=$%s logic that !ou can%t trust the test results an!wa!' this obviousl! important preventive step would be rendered pointlessC

But again' most babies are at ver! low ris# of hepatitis B in the first place' so the question to as# is does the vaccine%s benefit outweigh its ris#s5 It%s worth noting as well that' as adults' most people infected with hepatitis B don%t require hospital care and the ma,orit! recover without complications and are left with natural' lifelong immunit!.

-t.s /our *i$%t to "s0 1uestions "(out Vaccinations

0ou have ever! right to not onl! as# questions about vaccine safet!' but also to decide which vaccinations !ou would li#e to receive or decline for !ourself and !our children. In the case of the hepatitis B vaccine' if !ou%re giving birth in a hospital !ou can let !our nurses' obstetrician and pediatrician #now whether or not !ou consent to having !our bab! vaccinated. It%s !our choice. There are reports that some newborns are being vaccinated in the newborn nurser! against the parents% wishes' however' so if !ou decide to opt out of the vaccine it is a good idea to #eep !our newborn with !ou at all times' or have a famil! member sta! with the bab!' while in the hospital. But please remember that it%s up to !ou to get informed about ever! medical procedure being given to !our bab!' and vaccinations are no e2ception. I encourage !ou to as# these eight questions' developed b! the .ational 1accine Information $enter ;.1I$<' if !ou are considering getting !ourself or !our child vaccinated" (. m I or m! child sic# right now5 ). 7ave I or m! child had a bad reaction to a vaccination before5 ?. =o I or m! child have a personal or famil! histor! of vaccine reactions' neurological disorders' severe allergies or immune s!stem problems5 4. =o I #now the disease and vaccine ris#s for m!self or m! child5 A. =o I have full information about the vaccine%s side effects5 6. =o I #now how to identif! and report a vaccine reaction5 4. =o I #now I need to #eep a written record' including the vaccine manufacturer%s name and lot number' for all vaccinations5 @. =o I #now I have the right to ma#e an informed choice5 s .1I$ states" "(f you answered yes to )uestions 1$ *$ and +$ or no to )uestions ,$ 5$ -$ . and / and do not understand the significance of your answer$ you may want to review information on 01(2&s website with lin's to other websites and resources so you can better answer these )uestions designed to educate consumers about the importance of ma'ing fully informed vaccine decisions." &urther' I highl! recommend all parents consider the following steps before consenting to vaccinations' including hepatitis B"

:ducate !ourself about vaccination' including reading the vaccine manufacturer product inserts for vaccines that !our doctor is recommending and reviewing vaccine information on this website and websites li#e .1I$.org. 7elp educate !our famil!' and !our communit! b! circulating this newsletter among !our friends' neighbors' doctors' law!ers' teachers' school principles' nurses' local newspaper' T1 and radio stations. +end a cop! of this newsletter with a personal note to !our elected representatives. The .ational 1accine Information $enter ;.1I$< provides information for consumers about vaccines and diseases and wor#s to protect vaccine choices. 3egister toda! for the .1I$ dvocac! >ortal' an online interactive database and communication s!stem that will help 0-6 protect vaccine e2emptions in 0-63 state. 3eport vaccine reactions to the federal government ;1 :3+< and to the .1I$ 1accine 3eaction 3egistr! b! visiting the .1I$ website. This reporting is :ET3:M:/0 important and necessar! if we are to accelerate change. If !ou are pregnant' get tested for hepatitis B disease. If !ou are infected' !our bab! ma! be at higher ris# for becoming infected with hepatitis B and is a candidate for vaccination' so !ou should e2plore all sides of the issue with !our ph!sician. +tand up for !our informed consent rights. If !ou are opposed to the hepatitis B vaccine for !our bab! at birth' !ou can amend the Fconsent for medical treatmentF forms !ou sign upon entering the hospital before giving birth b! writing on the form that !ou do not give consent for !our bab!%s hepatitis B vaccination in the newborn nurser!. 1accine e2emptions" lthough hepatitis B vaccines ma! be FmandatedF for !our child to attend school' each state offers different legal e2emptions ;medical' religious' and philosophical<. 3esearch !our state%s specific vaccine requirements and find out what #ind of e2emption to vaccination !ou are allowed to e2ercise in !our state.

+ource" Green Med Info +ource" nnals of :pidemiolog! 8anuar! )00(G((;(<"(?*)(