I'm applying for Nursing School and I want to know if I need a Hepatitis B vacc?

ShortStackRN · May 12, 2009

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!

iwanna · May 12, 2009

You need to check with the school. We were not required to have the vaccine series, although recommended. However, we did need to have lab test showing that we were negative for the Hep. B virus.

JohannaN · May 12, 2009

Are you a nurse that works in clinical setting?

kmarie724 · May 12, 2009

We were not required to have it, but it was "highly recommended" Even if it is required for the program you are interested in, I would think they might make an exception if you have documentation from your doctor that you are allergic and cannot get the vaccination.

changeofpaceRN · May 12, 2009

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.

AtomicWoman · May 12, 2009

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.

HeartsOpenWide, RN · May 12, 2009

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.

pagandeva2000, LPN · May 12, 2009

HeartsOpenWide is correct, many schools offer a waiver; which is basically saying that you decline to take the vaccination. This also means that you are entering into clinicals at your own risk of contracting the disease. See if yours does the same.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · May 12, 2009

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.

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · May 12, 2009

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.