© Copyright Information Inc., Bethesda, MD. Brought to you by the National Network for
Immunization Information (NNii).
Visit NNii’s new website at http://www.immunizationinfo.org.
April 13, 2001
“Hepatitis B Vaccination of Newborns Remains Low, Study
Found” Bloomberg News Service (www.bloomberg.com) (04/10/01)
A University of Chicago poll shows that only 39 percent of
hospitals in Cook County, Ill., are vaccinating newborns against hepatitis
B. A government and American Academy of
Pediatrics 1999 warning about a mercury-containing preservative in the vaccines
led to many hospitals abandoning the inoculations. New Merck and GlaxoSmithKline vaccines without the preservative caused
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend that the
vaccinations be resumed. In their
report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers warn
that hepatitis B can be passed from mother to child and that children have a
lower chance of getting their complement of immunizations at the proper time if
they are not inoculated against the disease as newborns.
ALL
INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR
GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE
KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED
AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO
VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU
ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.