"Astromum" wrote in message
...
Circe wrote:

The theory is that, although infants are seldom at risk for HepB, it is
difficult to get teenagers back for immunizations and, therefore, it is
better to immunize at birth. In the US, Hep B is seen as being a disease
for
which all sexually active people are at risk, and since today's infants
will
presumably be sexually active at some point in their lives, the
assumption
is that it is better to vaccinate them now than risk the possibility
that
they won't get vaccinated later in life when they really need it.

That's weird: when I got my shots back in Europe, I was told I needed
an 'update' every ten years, or the vaccine would no longer be effective.
Perhaps it depends on the type of vaccine they use. I'll be sure to ask
our ped about this too. Thanks!

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others carefully watch
the immunity of people who were vaccinated against Hep. B many years ago.
There is no way to tell if immunity against hep. B will last 20 years until
the shots have been around 20 years (I think they have been around for about
15 years, but there were other hep. B vaccines available before that).

Jeff
--
-- Ilse
mom to Olaf (07/15/2002)
TTC #2
"What's the use of brains if you are a girl?"
Aletta Jacobs, first Dutch woman to receive a PhD