Hep B Vaccine or not?

MB37 · Oct 5, 2008

I got it, but I generally get vaccines. I don't really understand the arguments against them. I also have no allergies though, and no one in my family has ever had even a minor reaction to any vaccine.

chevyv, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2008

I got the vaccine back in 1991 when I started as a cna in a hospital. I then got a booster a few years back. I'm fine with it as a healthcare worker, I want as much protection as I can get. I never had problems with getting the vaccine.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2008

I got the Hep B vaccine when I started working as an EMT. I have had some blood work to make sure I still have the needed protection.

I have no issues with getting vaccines that can protect me from getting all the things we are exposed to in the healthcare setting.

iamhere · Oct 5, 2008

Yea, I thought the same also.

I didn't want the vaccine but to get into program/school, it was required.

So I got it.

I guess since we are interacting with patients?

CHATSDALE · Oct 5, 2008

i got it but when i got a needle stick i had labs done and the hep b was below the mark

the doctor said that this didn't mean i didn't have protection but that it was just not showing up ??? recommended that i not repeat the series

mpccrn, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2008

i got it 20 years ago, my children are both vacinated...it just makes sense.

walkingrock, ADN · Oct 5, 2008

my original series of vaccinations was just after they came out...trying to remember when that was, i'm thinking 1984?? i had a blood check some years ago, and did not have immunity, so had the series repeated. the original vaccine was a bit different from what it is now; also, there may be a need for occasional boosters to maintain immunity. i remember thinking long and hard about whether or not to get it when i first got the series, wondering if it was safe or not...but the 2nd time there was no hesitation for me at all. in our line of work, with exposures multiple, i want to protect myself as much as possible. :nurse:

Jolie, BSN · Oct 5, 2008

Hepatitis B is a disease to which health care workers experience regular exposure. If one contracts hepatitis B, the likelihood of serious health consequences is relatively high. The vaccine is generally well-tolerated by children and adults alike without significant side-effects. Given these risks/benefits, it is my conclusion that this vaccine series is worthwhile for health care workers. I have gotten it myself and would recommend the same for other nurses unless they have some contraindication to the vaccine.

akantner · Oct 5, 2008

good to know, thanks

justme1972 · Oct 5, 2008

They have been giving this vaccine for quite a number of years and to the members of the military long before it was available to the general public.

I had no side effects from this vaccine whatsoever, and it sure beat the heck out of the risks from not having it.

Also, I read about two months ago (can't remember the website) where a nurse that had contracted Hep B, presumably at work (which is something else that is hard to prove) was denied workman's comp benefits and employer-paid medical expenses because she waived her right to the vaccine.

She sued and lost because the court said when you waive your right to take it, you assume the risk. Thus, the purpose of the waiver.

Everything is all fine and dandy....unless you contract it.

There are several vaccines that I would refuse to take, simply because they are too new, however Hep B isn't one of them.

Virgo_RN, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2008

Yep, I've been vaccinated.