Isn't the internet wonderful? Thanks to my blog-pal in Israel, EstherAr ( a blogging family physician who writes Mainstream Parenting) I found out that
- May is the US National Hepatitis B Awareness month
- Asians and Pacific Islanders (API) are at much higher risk of hepatitis B
- San Francisco has mounted a campaign to eliminate HepB, especially in the API community
Guess what? Immunization of newborns against hepatitis B is a key part of the campaign, especially where people of API ancestry form a significant part of the community...such as not just San Francisco, but the greater Bay Area.
A really good primer on universal and infant Hepatitis B vaccination, and why it should vary by country was published on Science-Based Medicine by Joseph Albietz . EstherAr's own post on the value of infant vaccination against HepB
The very good blog, Shot of Prevention, also has a good post on Why Infants Should Recieve the HepB shot at birth.
The anti-vaccination blog, inexplicably called "Age of Autism: The Daily Web Newspaper of the Autism Epidemic" has railed against the HepB vaccination program.
Age of Autism on infant Hep B vaccination :
- February 3 2009 How Important is the Hepatitis B Vaccine at Birth?
- February 3 2009 Hepatitis B Vaccine Caused MS
- September 17 2009 Hepatitis B Vaccine and Autism Risk
- September 30 2009 Blockbuster Primate Study (Hewitson et al., study withdrawn: February 12 2010 commentary here March 2 2010 commentary from Age of Autism)
- October 5 2009 Request to Obama Administration to remove
- October 7, 2009 Birth Dose Hepatitis B Vaccine Study (Hewitson et al., study withdrawn: February 12 2010 commentary here March 2 2010 commentary from Age of Autism)
- October 9 2009 Hepatitis B Vaccine: An Unmitigated Disaster
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