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PAINMAGAZINE 12
PointtoPoint
A THE CONTINUED BATTLE AGAINST
HEPATITIS B
ccording to the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) there is a difference between federal vaccine policies and state vaccine laws. Federal public health officials at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) make national vaccine policy recommendations for children and adults. With the
approval of state legislatures, public health officials in state health departments make and enforce vaccine mandates. That’s why vaccine laws and legal exemptions to vaccination vary from state to state. Although the NVIC is a public charity, anti-vaccination group, one of their primary messages remains to encourage well informed vaccine decision making by parents of small children.
Whether you support vaccinations or not, the chronic version of the hepatitis virus remains a disease whose risks are significantly higher due to complications from actually contracting the disease than the potential complications after receiving the hepatitis vaccine. Body art operators are not required to get the HBV vaccine but in most states, it is strongly recommended. Body art operators in most states can decline the HBV vaccination series but owners of body art establishments must then provide HBV brochures that explain the risks of contracting the disease.
According to the CDC, the number of chronic infections per year has declined from an average of 260,000 in the 1980’s to about 3000 as of 2014. The greatest decline in chronic HBV infections has occurred among children and adolescents The steady decline since the 80’s is largely due to vaccination strategies and an intense and unrelenting public awareness campaign designed to educate the public on the dangers and possibly life-threatening consequences of contracting the disease.
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