Published
You may want to check with the directors of the program you are applying to and ask the policy. My program requires that all rounds of the Hep B vaccine are taken before you are allowed in a clinical setting...this is because the actual HOSPITALS will not allow us on the floor without it. Good luck!
There is usually a form you can sign that declines it. When I was in school, it was "highly recommended" and made it sound like it HAD to be done. Regardless, talk to your doctor and see if you can get an exemption for it. A Medical exemption is VERY hard to get so you might have to look into the other types of exemptions offered in your state to reject vaccines. Good luck.
Check with your nursing school. My school lets you waive it.
Just remember that there are some people who do not obtain immunity after receiving their series. I had the 3 shots and my titer came back "no immunity". So I'm doing a second round of 3 shots. My family physician says he sees this all the time with Hep B, for some reason.
How long ago did you get it? If it has been awhile you might want to check into if they have changed the way it was manufactured. When my husband was a kid they made tetorifice vaccines with horse serum...and he had an allergic reaction to that. They do not make it like that anymore and he got it a few years ago without any reaction. How bad was your reaction? It might be worth it. If I was just a rash and a fever I would get it anyways. Some schools might allow you to sign a waiver, but if you contract it your SOL and maybe for even future insurance purposes too.
Same here: my school didn't require it...but those who didn't have it or were in the process of getting the series (such as myself--I had two out of three shots done before clinicals started), we had to sign a waiver stating that the school and the clinical facility are not responsible should we pick up Hep B along the way, regardless of the reason we didn't have the vaccination.
I'd also get a second opinion from another doctor regarding your allergic reaction, just to cover your bases.
If you truly had an adverse reaction to the HepB, then you need a note from your doctor stating so. (Some reactions are strong but not true adverse reactions.)
That said, even if you had an adverse reaction, you may have still seroconverted even after one vaccine. If I remember correctly from the CDC's 'pink book', something like 60% of people show immunity after the first vaccine. It might be worth getting a titer drawn just to see.
Not all schools will make you get the HepB, but it is their prerogative should they choose. Most, if not all, will strongly encourage it.
JohannaN
2 Posts
When I was in 7th grade and we had the opportunity to get the Hep B vaccination, I recieved it but had a bad allergic reaction to it and my Doctor told me that I couldn't have anymore because it would cause serious health problems. I need to know if they will accept me to become a nurse or in the phlebotomist program even though I've only had one Hep B shot and cannot get anymore