The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) released figures earlier this year showing that the number of hepatitis B vaccine-associated adverse events and deaths reported in US children under the age of 14 is exceptionally high, significantly outnumbering the reported cases of hepatitis B disease in that same age group.

Independent analysis of raw computer data generated by the government- operated Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) confirms that in 1996, there were 827 serious, adverse events reported to VAERS in children under 14 who had been injected with the hepatitis B vaccine. In contrast, during that same period there were only 279 reported cases of hepatitis B disease in children under 14.

Hepatitis B is primarily a blood-borne adult disease. At highest risk are IV drug users and people with multiple sex partners. In 1991, the CDC recommended that all infants receive the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine before discharge from the hospital, even though the only newborns at risk for hepatitis B are those born to infected mothers.

Ironically, only 15 states require mandatory hepatitis B screening of all pregnant women, while 35 require children to have three full doses of hepatitis B vaccine for admittance to daycare or school.

In October 1998, France became the first country to end hepatitis B vaccination requirements for schoolchildren, after reports that many children were developing chronic arthritis and symptoms resembling multiple sclerosis following the administration of the vaccine.

In the US, some experts are worried about the effects of the still- mandatory injections here. Bonnie Dunbar, PhD, a Texas cell biologist and vaccine researcher, says, “It takes weeks and sometimes months for autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis to develop following vaccination. No basic scientific research or controlled long-term studies into the side effects of this vaccine have been conducted on American babies, children, or adults.”

To learn more, contact the National Vaccine Information Center, 512 W. Maple Avenue, Suite 206, Vienna, VA 22180, 703-938-0342, 800-909-SHOT, www.909shot.com; and the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System, Department of Health and Human Services, PO Box 1100, Rockville, MD 20849-11, 800-822-7267, www.fda.gov/cber/vaers.htm

COPYRIGHT 1999 Mothering Magazine