VACCINE INFORMATION STATEMENT
Hepatitis B Vaccine
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Seewww.immunize.org/vis.
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What You Need to Know
1
What is hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is a serious infection that affects the liver. It
is caused by the hepatitis B virus.
• In2009,about38,000peoplebecameinfectedwith
hepatitis B.
• Eachyearabout2,000to4,000peopledieinthe
UnitedStatesfromcirrhosisorlivercancercausedby
hepatitis B.
Hepatitis B can cause:
Acute (short-term) illness. This can lead to:
•diarrheaandvomiting
•lossofappetite
•jaundice(yellowskinoreyes)
•tiredness •paininmuscles,joints,andstomach
Acuteillness,withsymptoms,ismorecommonamong
adults.Childrenwhobecomeinfectedusuallydonot havesymptoms.
Chronic (long-term) infection.Somepeoplegoonto
developchronichepatitisBinfection.Mostofthemdo
nothavesymptoms,buttheinfectionisstillveryserious,
and can lead to:
•liverdamage(cirrhosis)•livercancer•death
Chronicinfectionismorecommonamonginfantsand
childrenthanamongadults.Peoplewhoarechronically
infectedcanspreadhepatitisBvirustoothers,evenif
theydon’tlookorfeelsick.Upto1.4millionpeoplein
theUnitedStatesmayhavechronichepatitisBinfection.
HepatitisBvirusiseasilyspreadthroughcontactwith
thebloodorotherbodyfluidsofaninfectedperson.
Peoplecanalsobeinfectedfromcontactwithacontaminatedobject,wheretheviruscanliveforupto7days.
• Ababywhosemotherisinfectedcanbeinfectedat birth;
• Children,adolescents,andadultscanbecomeinfected
by:
- contactwithbloodandbodyfluidsthroughbreaksin
theskinsuchasbites,cuts,orsores;
- contactwithobjectsthathavebloodorbodyfluids
onthemsuchastoothbrushes,razors,ormonitoring
andtreatmentdevicesfordiabetes;
- havingunprotectedsexwithaninfectedperson;
- sharingneedleswheninjectingdrugs;
- beingstuckwithausedneedle.
2
Hepatitis B vaccine: Why get
vaccinated?
HepatitisBvaccinecanpreventhepatitisB,andthe
seriousconsequencesofhepatitisBinfection,including
liver cancer and cirrhosis.
HepatitisBvaccinemaybegivenbyitselforinthesame
shotwithothervaccines.
RoutinehepatitisBvaccinationwasrecommendedfor
someU.S.adultsandchildrenbeginningin1982,andfor
allchildrenin1991.Since1990,newhepatitisB
infectionsamongchildrenandadolescentshavedropped
bymorethan95%–andby75%inotheragegroups.
Vaccinationgiveslong-termprotectionfromhepatitisB
infection,possiblylifelong.
3
Who should get hepatitis B
vaccine and when?
Children and Adolescents
• Babiesnormallyget3dosesofhepatitisBvaccine:
1stDose:
Birth
2ndDose:
1-2monthsofage
3rdDose:
6-18monthsofage
Somebabiesmightget4doses,forexample,ifa
combinationvaccinecontaininghepatitisBisused.
(Thisisasingleshotcontainingseveralvaccines.)The
extradoseisnotharmful.
• Anyonethrough18yearsofagewhodidn’tgetthe
vaccinewhentheywereyoungershouldalsobe
vaccinated.
Adults
• AllunvaccinatedadultsatriskforhepatitisBinfection
should be vaccinated. This includes:
- sexpartnersofpeopleinfectedwithhepatitisB,
- menwhohavesexwithmen,
- peoplewhoinjectstreetdrugs,
- peoplewithmorethanonesexpartner,
- peoplewithchronicliverorkidneydisease,
- peopleunder60yearsofagewithdiabetes,
- peoplewithjobsthatexposethemtohumanbloodor
otherbodyfluids,
- householdcontactsofpeopleinfectedwithhepatitisB,
- residentsandstaffininstitutionsforthedevelopmen-
tallydisabled,
- kidneydialysispatients,
- peoplewhotraveltocountrieswherehepatitisBis
common,
- peoplewithHIVinfection.
• Otherpeoplemaybeencouragedbytheirdoctortoget
hepatitisBvaccine;forexample,adults60andolder
withdiabetes.Anyoneelsewhowantstobeprotected
fromhepatitisBinfectionmaygetthevaccine.
AdultsgettinghepatitisBvaccineshouldget3doses—
withtheseconddosegiven4weeksafterthefirstandthe
thirddose5monthsafterthesecond.Yourdoctorcantell
youaboutotherdosingschedulesthatmightbeusedin
certaincircumstances.
Who should not get hepatitis
B vaccine?
• Anyonewithalife-threateningallergytoyeast,orto
anyothercomponentofthevaccine,shouldnotget
hepatitis B vaccine. Tell your doctor if you have any
severeallergies.
What should I look for?
• Anyunusualcondition,suchasahighfeverorunusual
behavior.Signsofaseriousallergicreactioncaninclude
difficultybreathing,hoarsenessorwheezing,hives,
paleness,weakness,afastheartbeatordizziness.
What should I do?
• Calladoctor,orgetthepersontoadoctorrightaway.
• Tell yourdoctorwhathappened,thedateandtimeit
happened,andwhenthevaccinationwasgiven.
• Ask yourdoctor,nurse,orhealthdepartmenttoreport
thereactionbyfilingaVaccineAdverseEvent
ReportingSystem(VAERS)form.Oryoucanfilethis
reportthroughtheVAERSwebsiteat
www.vaers.hhs.gov,orbycalling1-800-822-7967.
7
• Anyonewhoismoderatelyorseverelyillwhenadose
ofvaccineisscheduledshouldprobablywaituntil
theyrecoverbeforegettingthevaccine.
The National Vaccine Injury
Compensation Program
TheNationalVaccineInjuryCompensationProgram
(VICP)wascreatedin1986.
Personswhobelievetheymayhavebeeninjuredbya
vaccinecanlearnabouttheprogramandaboutfilinga
claimbycalling1-800-338-2382orvisitingtheVICP
websiteatwww.hrsa.gov/vaccinecompensation.
Yourdoctorcangiveyoumoreinformationaboutthese
precautions.
Note:Youmightbeaskedtowait28daysbeforedonating
bloodaftergettinghepatitisBvaccine.Thisisbecausethe
screeningtestcouldmistakevaccineinthebloodstream
(whichisnotinfectious)forhepatitisBinfection.
8
What are the risks from
hepatitis B vaccine?
Hepatitis B is a very safe vaccine. Most people do not
haveanyproblemswithit.
Thevaccinecontainsnon-infectiousmaterial,andcannot
cause hepatitis B infection.
How can I learn more?
• AskyourdoctorTheycangiveyouthevaccine
packageinsertorsuggestothersourcesofinformation.
• Callyourlocalorstatehealthdepartment.
• ContacttheCentersforDiseaseControland
Prevention(CDC):
- Call 1-800-232-4636 (1-800-CDC-INFO) or
-VisitCDC’swebsiteatwww.cdc.gov/vaccines
Vaccine Information Statement (Interim)
Somemildproblemshavebeenreported:
• Sorenesswheretheshotwasgiven(uptoabout1
personin4).
What if there is a moderate or
severe reaction?
VAERS does not provide medical advice.
• Anyonewhohashadalife-threateningallergic
reaction to a previous dose of hepatitis B vaccine
shouldnotgetanotherdose.
5
Avaccine,likeanymedicine,couldcauseaserious
reaction.Buttheriskofavaccinecausingseriousharm,
ordeath,isextremelysmall.Morethan100million
peopleintheUnitedStateshavebeenvaccinatedwith
hepatitis B vaccine.
6
• Pregnantwomenwhoareatriskforoneofthereasons
statedaboveshouldbevaccinated.Otherpregnant
womenwhowantprotectionmaybevaccinated.
4
Severeproblemsareextremelyrare.Severeallergic
reactionsarebelievedtooccuraboutoncein1.1million
doses.
• Temperatureof99.9°Forhigher(uptoabout1person
in15).
Hepatitis B Vaccine
2/2/2012
42 U.S.C. § 300aa-26
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