Over the years, some baby vaccinations have changed. While you still have requirements for standard vaccinations such as the MMR, which stands for measles, mumps, and rubella, new vaccinations have also been developed to keep up with current health risks. For instance, while the Hepatitis B vaccination was first introduced in the U.S. back in 1982 as a precautionary measure, it is now a very important part of the immunization in that risk levels have increased.
Unfortunately, this infectious disease affects more than one million people in this country alone with as many as 30% having been infected as children. In addition to causing serious liver damage, hepatitis B has no cure. To provide your baby with protection from this harmful, if not fatal disease, it is strongly recommended that all babies receive the first of several hepatitis B vaccinations upon birth although waiting until around one month for the first shot is usually fine. Then sometime around the age of two to four months, he or she would receive another vaccination and then a third between six and eighteen months.
Because the risk of hepatitis B has become so serious, this disease is now screened for in pregnant women. If for some reason your test were to come out positive, it is imperative the baby’s first vaccination be administered immediately upon birth, opposed to waiting for a month. Then, if you were diagnosed with hepatitis B, your doctor would likely recommend you also receive an HBIG, which is hepatitis B immune globulin within 12 hours of having your baby.
On rare occasion, a baby will have a negative reaction to the first hepatitis B vaccination. In this case, the second and third vaccinations should not be administered. In addition, if your baby is due for his or her next shot but is ill with the flu, cold, or some other type of illness, talk to your pediatrician in that he/she would likely request you wait until the baby is well. Remember, while babies can have a reaction to this immunization, it is rare, affecting just 3%. For those that do have a reaction, symptoms generally include low-grade fever, along with redness, pain, and tenderness where the shot was given.