This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
New jab means babies will be protected from hepatitis B from birth
Babies born in the UK from August 2017 will receive the hepatitis B jab in an attempt to drive down viral infections that cause cirrhosis and liver cancer.
The vaccine is to be added to the 5-in-1 jab that babies already receive across the UK to protect them from bacterial infections such as diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough.
Britain is one of the last European countries to offer the vaccine to all newborns after the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended in 1992 that babies should be immunised against the virus.
Health officials delayed introducing the jab for all infants because there was no cost-effective combination jab available in the UK. The vaccine had previously been only offered to children considered at high risk of catching hepatitis B.
Sema Mandal, a consultant in immunisation, hepatitis and blood safety at Public Health England (PHE), said: “While hepatitis B is relatively uncommon in the UK, it is a major cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer globally. From this autumn children in the UK will also be able to benefit from this safe and effective vaccine.”
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