Legislation would make NH sicker
The column “Disease has a Bright Future in America” (Feb. 3) describes the disservice to Americans when data, evidence, and experience are replaced by political ideology.
New Hampshire is engaged in this tragedy, with recent legislative efforts to limit or end the at-birth dose of Hepatitis B (HB) vaccine (House Bill 1719). HB vaccine has been used routinely for more than 30 years, with a dose at-birth and a booster one month later. It has an outstanding safety and impact record. Serious reactions after experience with millions of doses have been very rare, and HB infections in children have declined by 99%. The at-birth dose overcomes the major reason for babies developing hepatitis B disease, that is, pregnant women with little access to medical care except when they give birth.
The rationale behind this bill is the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) new recommendation saying only babies born to women testing positive for hepatitis B before birth should receive an at-birth dose of vaccine. This ignores the fact that such women have little access to prenatal care. Pre-natal testing? Not likely. No new data, evidence or experience was used by ACIP to make this change. Consequently, many medical and health professional organizations have rejected it.
How trivial is the delay of one month for the first dose? Mothers less likely to access care will have no follow-up pediatric care for their baby, thus no opportunity for vaccine delivery. This inability to access care is already showing health consequences for other diseases, such as syphilis. The US has seen a 222% increase in maternal syphilis between 2016 and 2022. Nearly 90% of congenital syphilis cases in 2022 were attributed to lack of testing and treatment during pregnancy. Reduced support for medical insurance and services will increase these numbers.
HB 1719 assumes that ACIP is creating policy based on good data and science. Not so. Please tell your legislators this bill will only create, as the Opinion column mentioned above said, a brighter future for disease among our fellow Granite Staters.