Did ACIP Members Add an Untested Hepatitis B Vaccine to the Childhood Schedule
Or is this more anti-vaccine propaganda to help RFK Jr justify "cleaning house" at the ACIP?
Why do some people think that ACIP members added a hepatitis B vaccine to the childhood immunization schedule that was not safety tested?
The usual suspects…
Did ACIP Members Add an Untested HepB Vaccine to the Childhood Schedule
In this case, the Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine outfit that Secretary RFK Jr started, is working hard to defend his decision to fire all the current ACIP members.
How?
They pulled out a video of a vote from an old ACIP committee meeting for the Heplisav-B vaccine, an adjuvanted vaccine - for adults.
In the video, you can hear a member ask if the vaccine had been tested with other adjuvanted vaccines. And the answer was no, it had not been.
But why would they approve a vaccine for adults that wasn’t tested to be given with other adjuvanted vaccines?
Well, for one thing, very few vaccines use newer adjuvants!
Those that do include:
Shingrix - a shingles vaccine for adults who are at least 50 years old
Fluad - an adjuvanted flu vaccine for seniors who are at least 65 years old
the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, which wasn’t available in 2018!
So there would be very little chance that anyone would need to get a Heplisav-B vaccine and another adjuvanted vaccine at the same time.
But isn’t aluminum an adjuvant in vaccines?
Sure, but that isn’t the type of adjuvant they were talking about at the ACIP meeting.
“Persons who do not respond to an initial vaccine series have a 30%--50% chance of responding to a second series. Newer vaccines might provide greater seroprotection, which can mean a greater antibody response, especially in adults who may be older, obese or live with type 2 diabetes. If you have not responded to a primary hepatitis B vaccine series, talk to your doctor about whether the Heplislav-B (2-dose) or PreHevbrio (3-dose) vaccine is a better option for you.”
Vaccine Non-Responders
And anyway, most adults who need to get a hepatitis B vaccine aren’t getting multiple vaccines at the same time. If they need to, any small possible risk is worth the benefit of getting vaccinated and protected.
Especially for a new vaccine that might actually work better than previous versions for those who are high risk.
A new vaccine that has been found to be safe in post-marketing safety studies.
“Receipt of HepB-CpG compared with HepB-alum was not significantly associated with an increased risk of acute myocardial infarction.”
Association Between 2-Dose vs 3-Dose Hepatitis B Vaccine and Acute Myocardial Infarction
A new vaccine that is helping protect adults from getting infected with the hepatitis B virus, which can lead to chronic hepatitis B infections, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.
The type of new vaccine that we might not have access to as Secretary RFK Jr stacks the ACIP with committee members who rubber stamp his anti-vaccine agenda.
References
FDA - HEPLISAV-B https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/vaccines/heplisav-b
Vaccine Non-Responders https://www.hepb.org/prevention-and-diagnosis/vaccination/vaccine-non-responders/
Bruxvoort KJ, Sy LS, Slezak J, Ackerson BK, Qian L, Qiu S, Solano Z, Reynolds K. Post-marketing safety study to evaluate pregnancy outcomes among recipients of hepatitis B vaccines. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2024 Dec 31;20(1):2397872. doi: 10.1080/21645515.2024.2397872. Epub 2024 Sep 2. PMID: 39222955; PMCID: PMC11370903.
Ackerson B, Sy LS, Slezak J, Qian L, Reynolds K, Huang R, Solano Z, Towner W, Qiu S, Simmons SR, Jacobsen SJ, Bruxvoort KJ. Post-licensure safety study of new-onset immune-mediated diseases, herpes zoster, and anaphylaxis in adult recipients of HepB-CpG vaccine versus HepB-alum vaccine. Vaccine. 2023 Jul 5;41(30):4392-4401. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.06.004. Epub 2023 Jun 10. PMID: 37308363.
Association Between 2-Dose vs 3-Dose Hepatitis B Vaccine and Acute Myocardial Infarction https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2790492
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