Thursday, July 26, 2007

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a liver disease caused by a virus. It is spread much like HIV - through infected bodily fluids and dirty needles, and it can be passed from mother to child during childbirth. You can have Hep B and have no symptoms or you may have flu-like symtpoms such as fatigue, upset stomach, etc. Hep B can get better on its own after a few months or it can become chronic. Chronic Hep B can lead to liver damage, failure and/or liver cancer. About 5.000 people die a year from chronic liver disease/cancer from Hep B in the United States each year.

According to the Hepatitis B Foundation's site, children with Hep B are at no risk for physical disabilities and can live a "long and healthy life" with proper care. (source)

Those in the high-risk group include illegal drug users, someone who lives with someone with Hep B, the promiscuous, h*mosexuals and those who handle human blood in their jobs like healthcare workers (source)

So. If Hep B is a disease mainly of those who are s*xually promiscuous or sharing drug needles WHY (WHY?!?!?!) you ask, are they vaccinating our tiny, sweet, healthy babies the day they are born?!?!?!

Because its easier to vaccinate tiny babies then to get pr*stitutes and dr*g addicts to come in and get a 3-dose vaccine series. Nice plan eh?

It makes me absolutely FURIOUS that they do this; and even more so that people have no idea how NOT at-risk their babies are and how dangerous this vaccine is. Its a social injustice and its harming our children (because this vaccine in particular is not safe).

In my next post I will share some specifics on the safety (or lack thereof) of the Hepatitis B vaccine.

1 comment:

Green Republican said...

This is one of the vaccines I researched a lot too and it made me so mad the more I read.

I was nervous, but felt comfortable standing my ground in front of my doctor regarding HepB. We switched to a ND shortly thereafter though... I couldn't stand the pressure of my MD. He just drove me nuts at every visit.

My ND is very open and easy to talk to. If I want to vaccinate, she'll make it happen. If I don't, she respects it. It's totally up to me. Neither of the girls have had any vaccinations in the past two years though...

Wish I could find someone who has the chicken pox! I'd rub the girls all over them! LOL LOL LOL