Hepatitis B Vaccine:

A vaccine is used to develop immunity against a particular disease. Hepatitis B vaccine is administered to people to fight the dreadful Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). This vaccine contains Hepatitis B antigen which produces antibodies in the human bloodstream to fight out the HBV.

Hepatitis B Virus :
HB virus attacks liver and causes chronic liver disease including liver cancer. HBV is highly infectious. In adults, it is contracted through contact from blood of infected patients. It is spread through shared needles or unsafe sex with infected patients. It can also affect children immediately after birth or when they come in to contact with other HBV affected patients. HBV also get transmitted from mother to her baby during pregnancy. This virus is more infectious than HIV.

Symptoms :
HBV affected patients usually do not realize any symptoms. But some common symptoms associated with this are appetite loss, nausea and vomiting, Jaundice is the major symptom of this virus.

Hepatitis B Vaccine schedule:
This vaccine is given in three courses. The first dose is recommended to children immediately after the birth. The second dose is given one month after the first shot. The third course is administered anytime after six months from the second dose.

Benefits:
The vaccine is highly safe for all ages.
Hepatitis B vaccine is very effective in children. The vaccine is successful in protecting 95 percent of the vaccinated children and adolescents below 18 years. Its overall effectiveness is above 75 percent.
The duration of protection of this vaccine in the body is estimated to be more than 20 years.

Side effects:
Though this vaccine is relatively safe, it rarely produces some side effects.
Mild side effects:
Some children develop mild fever on vaccination. Other than this there may be soreness or possible infection around the injected area. Nausea, dizziness and pain in joints and muscles are other common side effects on administering the vaccine.
Major side effects:
The occurrence of major side effects are very rare. People may develop rash all over the body.
They may faint or have a low blood pressure.
They may even face breathing difficulty. To avoid this breathing difficulty, some parents prefer the first dosage to their infants after 2-3 weeks of birth. This also avoids breast feeding difficulties, if any.
Sometimes vaccine may affect the tissues around arteries. This shortens life expectancy.

Poor response:
The vaccine is effective in 95 percent of the vaccinated children. But the response levels above 40 years of age is less than 90 percent. Above 60 years of age the response achieved in only 65 to 70 percent of those vaccinated.

Cost of vaccine:
The total cost for the three shorts range from $75 to $165 in US. This is administered free of cost to infants up to 18 months old and also some times to older children. Some insurance policies also cover the cost of vaccination in adults.

In summary, the advantages of the vaccine clearly outnumber the side effects. Hence the Hepatitis B vaccine can be administered without any tension. Further to get the full benefits of the vaccine, all the three shots of the vaccine should be taken according to the schedule.

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