Hepatitis B Vaccine

In one of the largest vaccination efforts in local history, health officials plan to dispatch dozens of nurses to nearly 100 Ventura County schools next month to inoculate thousands of sixth-graders against the potentially deadly hepatitis B. A new state law requires that students be immunized against the virulent blood-carried virus, or they cannot enroll in seventh grade after July 1. As a result, the free series of three injections is scheduled for February, March and June.

U.S. immunization rates for the most common childhood vaccines continue to remain near or above the target level of 90% coverage, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Rates for the newest vaccines, including hepatitis A, hepatitis B and rotavirus, also continue to grow, the agency reported in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . Less than 1% of children had not received any vaccines. "Today's report is generally very reassuring, despite reports we have seen" about parents being reluctant to immunize children because of fears of a link between vaccines and autism.

"Merck Misled on Vaccines, Some Say" (March 7) leads the reader to believe that Merck & Co. misled the Food and Drug Administration and doctors and patients from 1999 to 2001, at which time it was distributing both thimerosal-free and thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccine. As a pediatrician who used these vaccines during that period, I can report that there was no misleading of doctors. This is another in a series of articles that seem to be biased toward the idea that vaccines are the cause of autism and that vaccine companies like Merck have deceived the public about their safety.

The nicotine patch. Google. The hepatitis B vaccine. Music synthesizer chips. Computerized war games. And a really tasty strawberry. Those are just a few of the thousands of inventions that were born on the campuses of California, making the state's academic centers among the nation's most productive and, through patents and licensing, well rewarded. The University of California, Caltech and Stanford ranked first, third and fourth, respectively, last year in the federal government's list of U.S. universities receiving patents.

Re "Vaccine/Autism Issue Was Presented Fairly," letters, Dec. 22: In a recent letter to the editor, I was dismissed as a "party-line hack" because I believe that vaccines are good for children. In reality, I am a pediatrician who specializes in infectious diseases, and I have seen too many children suffer and die from infections that could have been prevented through vaccination. So, yes, I am a strong proponent of immunizations. The writer sarcastically implies that vaccines are not necessary to protect children against "such calamities as rubella or hepatitis B."

The nicotine patch. Google. The hepatitis B vaccine. Music synthesizer chips. Computerized war games. And a really tasty strawberry. Those are just a few of the thousands of inventions that were born on the campuses of California, making the state's academic centers among the nation's most productive and, through patents and licensing, well rewarded. The University of California, Caltech and Stanford ranked first, third and fourth, respectively, last year in the federal government's list of U.S. universities receiving patents.

U.S. immunization rates for the most common childhood vaccines continue to remain near or above the target level of 90% coverage, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Rates for the newest vaccines, including hepatitis A, hepatitis B and rotavirus, also continue to grow, the agency reported in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . Less than 1% of children had not received any vaccines. "Today's report is generally very reassuring, despite reports we have seen" about parents being reluctant to immunize children because of fears of a link between vaccines and autism.

A number of San Fernando Valley hospitals and health clinics are offering free hepatitis B vaccines for children. The immunization drive is in response to a new statewide requirement, effective July 1, that all students entering the seventh grade in public and private schools receive the three-shot vaccine. The vaccination series takes six months to complete, with shots spaced several months apart. Students must show proof of having received at least the first shot to be admitted to school.

The hepatitis B vaccine doesn't cause multiple sclerosis in healthy people and doesn't trigger flare-ups in MS patients, according to two studies in today's New England Journal of Medicine. "I think, with the evidence we have now, it is safe, as safe as any other vaccines," said Dr. Alberto Ascherio of the Harvard School of Public Health, who led one of the studies. "I don't see why [its use] shouldn't be continued."

Vaccines aren't just for babies and kindergartners. Hepatitis B--which is highly contagious and potentially fatal--is now the second-most commonly reported sexually transmitted disease in the United States, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The growing impact of hepatitis B prompted the academy in February to recommend that infants and young children--and adolescents where resources allow--be routinely immunized against it.

"Merck Misled on Vaccines, Some Say" (March 7) leads the reader to believe that Merck & Co. misled the Food and Drug Administration and doctors and patients from 1999 to 2001, at which time it was distributing both thimerosal-free and thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccine. As a pediatrician who used these vaccines during that period, I can report that there was no misleading of doctors. This is another in a series of articles that seem to be biased toward the idea that vaccines are the cause of autism and that vaccine companies like Merck have deceived the public about their safety.

Re "Vaccine/Autism Issue Was Presented Fairly," letters, Dec. 22: In a recent letter to the editor, I was dismissed as a "party-line hack" because I believe that vaccines are good for children. In reality, I am a pediatrician who specializes in infectious diseases, and I have seen too many children suffer and die from infections that could have been prevented through vaccination. So, yes, I am a strong proponent of immunizations. The writer sarcastically implies that vaccines are not necessary to protect children against "such calamities as rubella or hepatitis B."

The hepatitis B vaccine doesn't cause multiple sclerosis in healthy people and doesn't trigger flare-ups in MS patients, according to two studies in today's New England Journal of Medicine. "I think, with the evidence we have now, it is safe, as safe as any other vaccines," said Dr. Alberto Ascherio of the Harvard School of Public Health, who led one of the studies. "I don't see why [its use] shouldn't be continued."

A number of San Fernando Valley hospitals and health clinics are offering free hepatitis B vaccines for children. The immunization drive is in response to a new statewide requirement, effective July 1, that all students entering the seventh grade in public and private schools receive the three-shot vaccine. The vaccination series takes six months to complete, with shots spaced several months apart. Students must show proof of having received at least the first shot to be admitted to school.

In one of the largest vaccination efforts in local history, health officials plan to dispatch dozens of nurses to nearly 100 Ventura County schools next month to inoculate thousands of sixth-graders against the potentially deadly hepatitis B. A new state law requires that students be immunized against the virulent blood-carried virus, or they cannot enroll in seventh grade after July 1. As a result, the free series of three injections is scheduled for February, March and June.

Anticipating the need to vaccinate 135,000 seventh-graders against potentially deadly hepatitis B, Los Angeles County health officials have begun a massive campaign to offer free vaccinations at county clinics. Under a new state law that takes effect July 1, students cannot enter, advance to or repeat the seventh grade if they have not received the vaccine, which is given in three doses over a six-month period.

Anticipating the need to vaccinate 135,000 seventh-graders against potentially deadly hepatitis B, Los Angeles County health officials have begun a massive campaign to offer free vaccinations at county clinics. Under a new state law that takes effect July 1, students cannot enter, advance to or repeat the seventh grade if they have not received the vaccine, which is given in three doses over a six-month period.

No evidence exists to support theories that mosquitoes or hepatitis B vaccine can transmit the virus believed to cause AIDS, researchers said in today's Journal of the American Medical Assn. The bulk of evidence implicates sexual contact and exposure to blood or its components as vehicles for the spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome, Dr. D. Peter Drotman of the national Centers for Disease Control said.

Vaccines aren't just for babies and kindergartners. Hepatitis B--which is highly contagious and potentially fatal--is now the second-most commonly reported sexually transmitted disease in the United States, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The growing impact of hepatitis B prompted the academy in February to recommend that infants and young children--and adolescents where resources allow--be routinely immunized against it.