To evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of an additional birth dose of diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP).
While hepatitis B vaccine was introduced in Haiti as part of a combined pentavalent vaccine in 2012, a birth dose is not yet included in the immunization schedule.
"Most mother-to-child transmission occurs within days of birth, so the birth dose is vital," said primary investigator Dr Homie Razavi, of the Centre for Disease Analysis Foundation, a public health research firm based in Colorado.
Hepatitis B vaccine was first introduced in the national childhood immunization program in 1997 in high-risk areas, expanded nationwide in 2002, and included birth dose vaccination in 2003.
On July 7 , 1999 at Halsey's urging, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Public Health Service released a statement urging vaccine manufacturers to remove thimerosal as quickly as possible and advising pediatricians to postpone giving most newborns the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine.
China now has one of the highest usage rates of the birth dose of the vaccine in the world: 96% of Chinese babies receive it on their first day of life.
During the period of time of removal of thiomersal, the CDC and AAP asked doctors to delay the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine in children not at risk for hepatitis.
Additionally, an upcoming collaborative study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh - School of Medicine, the University of Kentucky and Thoughtful House Center for Children in Austin, Texas reveals evidence of substantial functional brain damage in infant primates who received the birth dose of Hepatitis B Vaccine.
One such intervention is birth dose hepatitis B vaccine.
The chronic iVDPV infection could have been initiated by the birth dose.
Birth dose suspension cohort: Born between July September 199999 (n = 6,401).
