The United States Court of Federal Claims sided with the estate of Tambra Harris, who died as a result of an auto-immune disease called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The court awarded $475,000 following her death after finding the hepatitis vaccine caused her injury in the form of SLE. But this near-admittance of a cause-effect relationship between the vaccine and the illness and subsequent death isn’t enough. No, we still give the shot to babies.
So, what is hepatitis B and why are we told that it is so important that newborn infants are vaccinated against it? Hepatitis B is not pleasant and can be deadly. But newborns (and the vast majority of people at any age) aren’t at risk of contracting the disease. It’s spread by contact with bodily fluids, as in through unprotected sex or dirty needles.
The risks associated with the hepatitis B vaccine are far more pressing than the risk of contracting the disease, says Dr. Jane Orient of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). “For most children, the risk of a serious vaccine reaction may be 100 times greater than the risk of hepatitis B.”
Still, newborns are given the vaccine within moments of entering the world.
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