Give the 1st dose of hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours after birth
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The 1st dose of hepatitis B vaccine has to be given within 24 hours after the child is born. Among people infected in infancy or early childhood, about 95% go on to chronic hepatitis. People infected only after they are grown mostly get better on their own, so this dose is more useful the earlier it is given. If the mother's hepatitis B surface antigen is positive, the child also needs hepatitis B immune globulin within 12 hours of birth, at the same time.
- Cost
- No money. The hepatitis B vaccine is on the immunization schedule (免疫规划) and is free to begin with. The child gets it at the hospital on the day of birth, so there is no extra trip.
- Benefit
- The World Health Organization says: "All infants should receive the hepatitis B vaccine as soon as possible after birth (within 24 hours)." The reason is that "about 95% of infections in infancy and early childhood develop into chronic hepatitis." The great majority of people infected as adults clear it on their own (they get better without treatment). The WHO's own words are that "under 5%" of infections after adulthood become chronic. The National Health Commission (国家卫生健康委员会) protocol for interrupting mother-to-child transmission requires that a child born to a mother who is positive for hepatitis B surface antigen "receive the 1st dose of hepatitis B vaccine as early as possible within 12 hours after birth, and at the same time an injection of 100 international units of hepatitis B immune globulin."
- Notes
- If the mother's hepatitis B surface antigen is positive, the child also needs 1 shot of hepatitis B immune globulin at the same time after birth. This has to be checked at prenatal care. Do not wait until after the birth to ask. The screening the mother herself needs is in Section 1.
Sources · 2
- World Health Organization. Hepatitis B fact sheet. who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hepatitis-b
- 国家卫生健康委办公厅 (2020). 预防艾滋病、梅毒和乙肝母婴传播工作规范（2020 年版）. wjw.xinjiang.gov.cn/hfpc/zhgl6/202012/08b7de4…（新疆维吾尔自治区卫生健康委员会转载）