US CDC to decide on hepatitis B vaccine for newborns: All you need to know | World News
A federal vaccine advisory committee in the US is set to decide on whether newborns should still get the hepatitis B vaccine — the first shot found to prevent cancer. The CDC advisory group is expected to change the guidance that has been in place since the early 1990s, under which the hepatitis B vaccine was administered within the first 24 hours of life. What is Hepatitis B? Hepatitis B is a serious liver infection that for most people lasts less than six months. But for some — especially infants and children — it can become a long-lasting problem that can lead to liver failure, liver cancer and scarring called cirrhosis. In adults, the virus is spread through sex or through sharing needles during injection drug use. But it can also be passed from an infected mother to a baby. As many as 90% of infants who contract hepatitis B go on to have chronic infections, meaning their immune systems don’t completely clear the virus. Story continues below this ad As many as 2.4 million …
