Somebody answer: Hep B Series

[Prettyladie]

okay so here is my question and dilemma. you know how you have to have your shots before you enter nursing school and/or clinicals. well what i want to know is if you have to "redo" any of the shots you've gotten at birth, particularly hepatitis b. i got it at birth, 2mos, 6mos. the usual. im trying to do emt over the summer and they want me to have have completed the series before clinicals. is it possible that i could still be immune. has anybody continued into clinicals, nursing, emt, cna, anything with clinical rotations etc, with only using the hep series from birth. what suggestions do you have for me. thanks so much.

prettyladie.

[Prettyladie]

they want it COMPLETED before you start. not oh ive done one. or have had two..they one it complete. but im sure i have had them and now all i need is my shot record..and we cant find them so far, but we have one more spot that we need to look in and then if not ill call the high school and see what they say.

[Jolie, BSN]

A positive titer will establish that you have immunity to Hep B. If you show that you have immunity, you don't need the shots, regardless of whether you can prove having had them as a child (by producing the shot record) or not.

[Prettyladie]

ohhh.. so if i dont have the shot record and i show them the titer results for any immunization. so basically if i have that, then the shot record is really not that important.

[jschut, BSN, RN]

I declined mine for nursing school.

I have had the series before, but didn't have documentation.

I didn't have any records either, but had titers drawn, and that was sufficient for nursing school.

Good luck!

[Jolie, BSN]

ohhh.. so if i dont have the shot record and i show them the titer results for any immunization. so basically if i have that, then the shot record is really not that important.

Right.

Your titers will demonstrate the diseases to which you have immunity, either by immunization or actual infection. You will not need additional shots for those diseases.

Any titers that show a lack of immunity will be followed up by a new shot or series of shots.

[Prettyladie]

thank you all so much for this information.

[HopeForMelissa]

I worked as a nursing assistant about 10 years ago and had the full series of Hep B shots. I too am being required to provide proof for nursing school that I had the full series, but the nursing home where I worked at the time has changed hands a couple of times and the documented proof is nowhere to be found. I went to my local health department to get a titer drawn for the proof that I was immune. It turned out that the titer did not show immunity and I'm having to have the full series done again.

I know it can be a pain, literally, to get the shots....but I would suggest you getting a titer drawn just to make sure that you are actually immune. Better to have to get 3 shots again than to be exposed to Hep B when you aren't immune.

Good luck!!!

[Prettyladie]

thanks!! i called the school and they do have a copy of my shot records. but i just need to show that ive had them done for my EMT class, but when it gets time for nursing, ill get a titer either way, and hopefully it will show immunity, but if not ill get them definitely again for nursing school. thanks for your information.