[hoolahan]

I am entering a wound care program, and I needed to get a physical eval clearance from my doc. My doc has to take this soooo seriously, he makes me come in for a updated U/A CBC and he "ordered" a Hep B vaccine.

OK, I am not vaccinated

When this vaccine first came out, it was not made from monoclonal antibodies, so I refused it b/c the live vaccine could have also exposed me to HIV as far as I was concerned.

OK, so they have long since made the vaccine "safe." But after all these years, I figure Why Bother??

Let me ask this, let's say you had major trauma and needed several transfusions. Is that vaccine going to help, you? I figured it was really just to protect against an exposure like a needlestick, which I perceive to be a "lower risk" exposure than several blood transfusions.

That may be a dumb logic, but that is how I rationalized it.

WE are exposed to sooooo many things in this profession, I just, not to get all religious on ya, but I just put in in God's hands. Maybe I am a fool.

So, anyway, I am wondering have you had the vaccine?

If not, why not?

I am just really curious, that's all.

[MomNRN]

When the hospital first started offering it, I think around 1993, I refused because I intended to get pregnant again. I didn't know if there was any possible interactions, but used that as an excuse since I hate needles.

I finally got the series done when I entered nursing school (1998) since it was a requirement. I was still working at the hospital so I had it done there. As an employee there was no cost!

[Sleepyeyes]

Yes. It's also a requirement for schoolchildren here, and my son has also been vaccinated.

[hoolahan]

http://www.909shot.com/Newsletters/hepbnlr.htm

[hoolahan]

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/livin.../hepb2020.html

[donmurray]

It's recommended in my Trust, although you can decline if you sign a disclaimer form absolving them of any liability should you get infected. I took the jab, I think of it as a second line of defence after wearing gloves for anything involving messy bits.

[hoolahan]

http://www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/VIS/vis-hep-b.pdf

[sunnygirl272]

I was vaccinated in 1992....full series, spaced appropriately...had a needlestick in 1993, lowrisk source, but did the whole"shebang" of testing and titres...my titre then was ok, was immune....in 1998 or 1999 got a freaky blood exposure, had a "former" crack user/iv drug user, blind, diabetic...was doing patient teaching with his new talking glucometer...somehow or other, ended up with a few drops of blood on my forearm. Skin intact to naked eye, but had clients with kittens, and we know how those l'il buggers are...and with his history...i asked him to be tested for hiv and hep...he agreed, only cuz he liked me , cuz I "treated him like a person"....he was negative all around...my titre came back low, too low to be immune....had a booster and damn i can't remember now if i had a followup titre done..hmm...guess i oughta check my records...HMmm....

[Heather333]

Yep. Been vaccinated and had titers when I entered nursing school.

Heather

[MomNRN]

Our state, Illinois, now requires the vaccine. I believe it was enacted 2-3 years ago. Without the vaccine, students may be excluded from school.

They are able to file a "religious exemption" claim if they refuse to get the immunization. If they choose to do that, the principal and/or school board reviews their claim. They have the option to refuse.

According to the form, philosophical reasons against immunizations are not sufficient to be considered "religious exemption."

I have never heard of anyone in our district excluding a student from school for not getting immunizations. If they refuse to get the 2 required MMRs, they have to sign a waiver. The waiver states if there is a confirmed case of measles, their student will be excluded from school for at least 21 days, and the district will not pay for a tutor.