Long-term Implications and Barriers to Use of the Hepatitis B Vaccine at Birth

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017) recommended that all medically-stable infants who weigh more than 2,000 grams receive the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours after birth. While this juncture represents the first parental decision about vaccines, the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine may also have longer-term implications for vaccine completion. In this column, I review hepatitis B vaccine recommendations, research findings on connections with later vaccine uptake, barriers to vaccination and the role of vaccine hesitancy, and recommendations from professional organizations on hepatitis B vaccination.