{"id":14994,"date":"2025-09-04T17:12:07","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T22:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/?post_type=jtf_topics&#038;p=14994"},"modified":"2025-09-27T17:16:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T22:16:19","slug":"why-do-we-give-newborns-a-hep-b-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"jtf_topics","link":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/jtf_topics\/why-do-we-give-newborns-a-hep-b-vaccine\/","title":{"rendered":"Why do we give newborns a Hep B vaccine?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\">[vc_row source=&#8221;&#8221; text=&#8221;Clinical Trials&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h2|text_align:left&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221; google_fonts=&#8221;font_family:Abril%20Fatface%3Aregular|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal&#8221; link=&#8221;&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1708910874436{border-top-width: 1px !important;border-right-width: 1px !important;border-bottom-width: 1px !important;border-left-width: 1px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;The Claim:&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h3|text_align:left&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]An\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenBillCassidy\/status\/1962269409642197050\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">online discussion<\/a>\u00a0between Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), both physicians, asks whether or not it is worth it to give the Hepatitis B vaccine to babies who were just born.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=&#8221;The Facts:&#8221; font_container=&#8221;tag:h3|text_align:left&#8221; use_theme_fonts=&#8221;yes&#8221;][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]Hepatitis B (Hep B) can spread through sex, but that\u2019s not the only way. It can also pass from a mother to her baby during birth. Some people think babies are safe because mothers get tested, but in the U.S, about\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dchealth.dc.gov\/page\/hepatitis-b-and-pregnancy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">25,000 babies will be exposed<\/a>\u00a0to hepatitis B each year.<\/p>\n<p>If someone gets Hepatitis B, it can turn into chronic (long-term) Hepatitis B. This can last a lifetime and cause serious problems like liver damage, cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), or liver cancer. The younger you are when you catch Hepatitis B, the more likely it is to become chronic. There is no cure for Hepatitis B, but vaccines can stop people from getting it.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to the Hep B vaccine, especially the dose given at birth, cases have\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/articles\/PMC4550866\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">gone way down<\/a>\u00a0around the world. By vaccinating babies right away, we can protect more people, lower the spread of Hep B, and prevent diseases linked to it.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why vaccinate newborns for Hepatitis B? Experts explain how early vaccination prevents lifelong liver disease, even when mothers test negative. Science backs the birth dose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"template":"","jtf_topic_subjects":[211,218],"class_list":["post-14994","jtf_topics","type-jtf_topics","status-publish","hentry","jtf_topic_subjects-hepatitis-b","jtf_topic_subjects-vaccine-safety","entry","no-media"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/14994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/jtf_topics"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/14994\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15000,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topics\/14994\/revisions\/15000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"jtf_topic_subjects","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.voicesforvaccines.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/jtf_topic_subjects?post=14994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}