Hep B vaccine...are you vaccinated?

[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 :chair:

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.

[EmeraldNYL, BSN, RN]

I've given the Hep B vaccine to babies in my OB clinical too. I was vaccinated, really didn't want to because I hate needles, but was required to for nursing school. I'm glad now though because I just had a patient with Hep B the other day. Why not protect myself against everything I can? I never had titers drawn though to see if I'm still immune, how often should those be done? I was under the impression that once you got the vaccine you were pretty much immune forever, guess I was misinformed.

[jnette, ASN, EMT-I]

Yes... working in dialysis, it is a requirement. If working in ANY healthcare setting, I feel it should be as well.

[sixes]

They started immunizing the children in grade 8 here acouple of years ago.

I didn;t realize that they were immunizing babies.

I hate needles but I do believe in protecting against diaseases.

Like I said in my previuos posts. My body just rejects it. I have no titre level.

[NurseDianne, ADN]

I'm most definately vaccinated! And as part of our local Public Health Program will be vaccinated against Small Pox w/i the next few weeks.

As our Employee Health Nurse, I give ALL new employees a pamplet on Hep B, and strongly encourage them to read up.....

[LPN_mn]

Hoolahan,

I fully understand how you feel. I feel that I was called into the field of nursing. I had the hep b vaccine because it was required by the nursing school that I went to. I got a needle stick and the man tested pos. for hep b but because I had the vaccine and my titre was positive I did not have to worry about it. I now work in a facility where we have 5 people who are hep b pos. I believe that God will protect us but I also believe that he expects us to have some common sense and help ourselves. Dealing with open wounds and sometimes you may not know if they are pos. for hep b, HIV, or anything else. I would suggest getting the vaccine and then leave it in Gods hands.

[DeeDee71]

I refussed the vax for several years, when I started working in the Caribbean and Central America I went ahead and took the vax. I strongly sugest you do full research into the vax, I didn't and now live with the side effects of it. After the Hep B vax I developed headaches, dizziness, malaise, weakness, tingling in my hands and feet, URIs, nausea, abd pain/cramping, arthralgia, myalgia, back pain (along with DJD), rashes, RAD just to mention a few. I also work with children who have developed side effects from the hep B vax some of whom are no longer able to attend school from the effects. We all need to make the choice for ourself as to what is best for ourself and our families. I also feel we need to know ALL the information before those choices are made. If I had it to do again I would refuse.

[JerseyGirl]

I don't graduate until August, and our school didn't require it, but when I went for the pre entrance physical, my doctor informed me that in PA, all hospitals require all employees to be vaccinated, so I got immunized.

[majrn]

I got vaccinated and both my children have been, they both got their first injections a day or two post delivery.

[renerian, BSN, RN]

Yes I have been vaccinated and am still immune.

renerian

[TracyB,RN, RN]

Rec'd series in 1992. I am glad I did it. Only a little bit of soreness at the site, just like any other IM. Titres checked last year, still good.

OBHeather, funny you mention rubella. I had the disease & was vaccinated, my titres for that are very low, but still "acceptable."

[MPHkatie]

I was vaxed for it in the early 90's, then boosted, and boosted and boosted, and Finally, my titre came back high enough.

There are several cases of people called "non responders" to the vacciene for B. These people, studies have shown, actually have an immunity to Hepatitis B, they just don't show it on their titres. They followed these health care workers who didn't show titres for about ten years and monitored them if they had a needle stick and thats what they found.

I have to admit though, I am a vacciene junkie. Traveling frequently, I've got all sorts of bizarre vax- jap. encephalitis, yellow fever, polio boosts, typhoid, pneumonia, meningitis, you name it, I get it. Only one that ever gave me trouble was Yellow Fever and the FLU shot. Don't get the flu shot anymore, and yellow fever gave me a "mild" yellow fever. I'll say if that was mild, I definitely do nat want to experience the actual disease. I have not come down with ANY wierd symptoms or syndromes despite my obvious craving for vaccienes.....

[Merry1]

I got it for me and my family with little to no side effects and I feel good about it.