Hep B vaccine for newborns? REALLY?

The most shocking thing I have heard in the last few months has to do with the Hepatitis B vaccine. (told you this would be vaccine heavy but this one is a must read)

Hepatitis B is a disease with low numbers of the population infected in the United States and it is spread by intravenous drug use, sexually, and from an infected mother to her newborn baby. So why does the CDC recommend injection of every single newborn with the vaccine before the baby even leaves the hospital? Especially when mothers to be are tested for the disease during their prenatal care? The answer will shock you, or at least I hope it does……

The chances of your baby (or any newborn not born to an infected mother) contracting Hep B is essentially 0%, well unless your baby likes to shoot dope or have sex with those who do. Why on earth would we be shooting our precious infants with strange chemicals to prevent this disease then? The million dollar answer is………. READY????.......... to eradicate this disease from the United States. That is it, has nothing to do with protecting your baby, it is to prevent future generations of intravenous drug users and those who have sex with them. How can this be right?

Hep B is not even that serious of a disease, most adults who contract it can clear on its own with no treatment and only a very small number actually die from the disease. If my child decides to become a intravenous drug user she can take full responsibility for those actions and take her chances with the risks associated from such activities. How do the drug companies get the government to mandate these vaccines? Big money and lobbyists is the answer and no one questions it. Maybe because most expectant mothers couldn’t dream of their doctor telling them to give their baby a shot in its first few hours of life for no other reason than to eradicate a disease associated with high risk activities BUT they do. Every day. How often do you think while in the hospital this vaccine is explained to a mother and father of a beautiful new baby? I would guess the number is shockingly low and most people want to trust their doctors and the CDC vaccine schedule, I on the other hand do not trust them one bit. If they are to do things like this, what other drugs and vaccines are we testing for them? Testing with our most precious of cargo?

In conclusion, I believe everyone should question what we are injecting our children with and weigh the benefits and risks, also your own personal risk factor (will your baby be in a day care setting? do you have a friend that has Hep B? etc.) before deciding on what to do with your newborns. My job is to protect my family, the governments job is to protect the public, sometimes those views will clash.....

http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/