Hep B Vaccine Should Be Given Sooner

The first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine should be given to babies within 24 hours of birth, new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics say.

Until now, the academy had recommended the vaccine be given by the baby's first checkup. Now, the risk of infection has increased with the ongoing opioid crisis, as more moms are getting infected with hepatitis B and passing the virus on to their babies, the authors of the new guidelines explained.

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