# Why Hep B vaccine at birth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hep-b-vaccine-at-birth/590013 "2011-07-22T19:00:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hep-b-vaccine-at-birth/590013/1 "2011-07-22T19:00:04Z")
Why is the Hep B vaccine given to infants at birth? It is the only vaccine that is given in the first 2 months and it is given literally hours after birth. This would make you think that Hep B must be really easy to catch and so the health system has to be hyper-vigilant. Well, no. Actually, you can’t get it by “holding hands, sharing eating utensils or drinking glasses, breast-feeding, kissing, hugging, coughing, or sneezing” (from NIH). It is like HIV that it requires the exchange of blood or other fluids such as semen. So, why does the CDC and APA make the recommendation for such an early vaccine when the disease is nearly impossible to get (especially if no one in the family has it). NOTE: I am not looking for a vaccine/anti-vaccine debate. Go resurrect one of the dozen GD threads and argue there. I am looking for solid reasoning here. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hep-b-vaccine-at-birth/590013/2 "2011-07-22T19:08:11Z")
I believe that the Hep B vaccine is given at birth because when that standard was adopted (1991) Hep B tests for mothers was not routine. Hep B can pass to the infant during birth, and the vaccine can prevent infection, which is particularly dangerous to newborns. Now that mothers are tested it is probably less necessary (as long as the mother is negative). ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hep-b-vaccine-at-birth/590013/3 "2011-07-22T19:10:01Z")
I’m not a vaccine expert, but just perusing the wiki article, it appears the answer is to keep babies from possibly acquiring the virus from their mothers. Just like the goop they put every baby’s eyes, regardless of whether or not the mother actually has a sexually transmitted infection. The baby needs the Hep B vaccine eventually anyway, so doing it this way, they keep a large number from getting Hep B from their mom. ---
**Author:** ![conway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@conway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conway)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hep-b-vaccine-at-birth/590013/4 "2011-07-22T19:15:09Z")
[According to the CDC:](http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HBV/HBVfaq.htm#D12) > [@](#): > > Infants born to HBV-infected mothers require Hepatitis B vaccine and Hepatitis B immune globulin (HBIG) within 12 hours of birth to protect them from infection. However, because errors or delays in documenting, testing, and reporting maternal HBsAg status can and do occur, administering the first dose of Hepatitis 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. Also, initiating the Hepatitis B vaccine series at birth has been shown to increase a child’s likelihood of completing the vaccine series on schedule. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hep-b-vaccine-at-birth/590013/5 "2011-07-22T19:25:19Z")
Yup. Preferred over starting at 1 or 2 months of age because of a small benefit in preventing catching from birth to a Mom who may have acquired it since being tested early in pregnancy, or who may have already caught it but not yet developed antibodies to it. As to why in infancy at all, well that’s where the light’s good, if you get the reference. It is very doable to get a three shot series in during infancy. During pre-teen years and beyond much less so, and those most likely to benefit the most would be the least likely to complete a three shot series at that time. Finally it while the advantage of the newborn dose over beginning at one or two months is slight, there is a huge systems advantage of a consistent schedule across practices and the population as a whole. Fewer mistakes and missed doses happen the more the schedules are kept the same for all. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-hep-b-vaccine-at-birth/590013/6 "2011-07-22T19:35:13Z")
HepB vaccine is also proven to work well without any adverse effect on the efficacy of the other vaccines. Giving a neonatal dose of [pertussis vaccine](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022347609012487) appears to prime for a better response to future pertussis vaccines but does so at a cost of interfering with the efficacy of the response to some of the other vaccines. In general my understanding is that few of the other vaccines give as good of a response when given in newborn period. And several of them make much more sense to get the protection as early as possible than does HepB.