Hospital Policies Dictate Whether Newborns Are Immunized
Which newborns receive the hepatitis B immunization at birth, as recommended by federal health guidelines? It depends on which hospital they are born at, and the education and income of their mothers, according to a study published in the September issue of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Journal.
University of Colorado researchers and state epidemiologists tracked 64,425 infants born in 2008 to see which infants received the hepatitis B vaccine within 12 hours of birth, which decreases the risk of hepatitis B infection by about 90%.
They found that only 61.6% received the birth dose of HBV (the first of three vaccine doses). Ironically, the higher the mother’s income and education, the lower the child’s chances of getting vaccinated at birth.
Contributing to the lack of immunization was the lack of a hospital policy stipulating that all newborns receive the immunization at birth.
“To effectively reduce risk of perinatal (mother-to-child) hepatitis B transmission, hospitals should stipulate that all infants are offered HBV and ensure that these policies are implemented and followed,” the researchers noted.