Newborns to receive hepatitis B jab

All newborns across the UK from 1 August 2017 will have an anti-hepatitis B injection added to the other routine vaccinations they are given.

Babies are already vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, Hib and polio. The new jab will ensure that they are protected against viral infections that cause cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Babies are currently given the vaccinations when they are eight, 12 and 16 weeks old. The hepatitis B jab was available on the NHS as a separate jab and was only administered to infants considered at risk, but newborns will now have the injection when they have their other vaccinations.

While hepatitis B rates in the UK are very low, some inner city areas have up to 1 per cent of antenatal women infected. As the infection has no symptoms, many women are unaware they are ill, while their babies are considered at high risk.

The six-in-one vaccine does not have any live organisms, meaning there is no risk of infants contracting any of the diseases.

Public Health England said the new vaccine had been ‘shown to be safe’.

Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at Public Health England, said: “The Hexavalent vaccine has been extensively tested and shown to be safe and is widely used internationally with millions of doses being given around the world.”