3 babies in Vietnamn die after getting Hepatitis B vaccine

[RosyDaisy]

Here we go. More fodder for the anti-vax crowd

From: http://www.rawforbeauty.com/blog/hepatitis-b-vaccine-discontinued-after-three-newborn-babies-die-2.html

Families of three babies who died shortly after receiving their routine hepatitis B vaccine are mourning the loss of their children. The babies, vaccinated in Vietnam under the country’s National Expanded Program on Immunization, died on July 20 in the central province of Quang Tri, according to the report.

The Vietnamese Health Department has since opted to discontinue the use of two vaccine lots in the entire country to protect other babies from a similar, tragic fate. According to officials, the vaccines were not expired and were properly stored. They were administered by a nurse with over twenty years of experience.

On July 21, the nation’s health minister, Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, sent her condolences to the families of the deceased infants, ordering vaccine experts to investigate the tragedy. Preliminary investigations have identified anaphylactic shock as the cause of death. The chairperson of the vaccine program has asked parents to “keep calm†and continue vaccinating their children.

Health representatives have conducted damage control with home visits to the grieving parents, paying each family $377 and offering free medical care to the mothers at the hospital where their babies received the deadly vaccinations.

If these infant deaths were the result of anaphylactic shock, doesn't that mean it could happen to any infant, and that this is just a coincidence? And/or could it mean just a bad batch of the vaccine? In my strictly amateur opinion, 3 deaths doesn't mean that the Hepatitis B vaccine is bad. MY SO who is a medical professional (not a doctor) said it could be either or both. A lot of my friends and family had their babies vaccinated for Hepatitis B here in the U.S. with no negative side effects. Can the medical professionals on here chime in on this and provide some insight. For the record, I'm not anti-vax, and I'm not trying to start another endless pro/anti-vax debate, I just want an opinion on these tragic deaths.

[merrily]

Wow, first time I've heard of this happening in Vietnam. On the bright side, the anti-vaccination crowd hasn't come to Vietnam yet, and every school kid has to have vaccinations, and the school books heavily promote vacinnation.

[apple1]

If these infant deaths were the result of anaphylactic shock, doesn't that mean it could happen to any infant, and that this is just a coincidence? And/or could it mean just a bad batch of the vaccine? In my strictly amateur opinion, 3 deaths doesn't mean that the Hepatitis B vaccine is bad. MY SO who is a medical professional (not a doctor) said it could be either or both. A lot of my friends and family had their babies vaccinated for Hepatitis B here in the U.S. with no negative side effects. Can the medical professionals on here chime in on this and provide some insight. For the record, I'm not anti-vax, and I'm not trying to start another endless pro/anti-vax debate, I just want an opinion on these tragic deaths.

Healthcare professional (not an MD) here. I agree with the bold. There should be an investigation, and meanwhile withdrawing the particular lots is appropriate.

This is not an indictment of vaccination as a whole.

[RainbowSky]

Three babies dead from the same injection and what sounds like same nurse? I'm surprised no one has looked at that and ran with it. Poor babies and families.

[Arete]

Without an investigation, nothing can be said for sure, but my money is on either a bad batch of vaccine or something to do with the person or supplies used to administer the vaccine.

The Hep B vaccine is administered worldwide to people, including babies. Three babies in the same hospital given the injection by the same nurse? Either the manufacturer or the hospital screwed up. When you look at the article, the health services pulled 2 lots of the vaccine but are continuing to vaccinate babies against Hep B. That tells me they know the problem is not intrinsic to the vaccine.

What a tragedy.

[tigerchild]

Sounds like a tainted batch or something going wrong that may or may not be related to the vaccine itself.

Though how many children have received the vaccine? Every once in awhile you WILL have a reaction. I had a serious reaction to the second Hep B shot when I was in my 20s that freaked out everyone (luckily for me it occurred within minutes so I received immediate medical attention). It's rare with the Hep B vax but obviously it does happen.

My kids are still fully vaccinated with Hep B, and nothing bad happened to them. I've thought now and then of attempting the series again, just in case it was some weird thing with that shot or something else unknown that was unrelated to the shot.

It would be interesting to know what the investigation finds.

[mockingbird]

Sounds like a tainted batch or something going wrong that may or may not be related to the vaccine itself.

Though how many children have received the vaccine? Every once in awhile you WILL have a reaction. I had a serious reaction to the second Hep B shot when I was in my 20s that freaked out everyone (luckily for me it occurred within minutes so I received immediate medical attention). It's rare with the Hep B vax but obviously it does happen.

My kids are still fully vaccinated with Hep B, and nothing bad happened to them. I've thought now and then of attempting the series again, just in case it was some weird thing with that shot or something else unknown that was unrelated to the shot.

It would be interesting to know what the investigation finds.

If you really wanted to try it again you could have a "challenge" done by an allergist. I did that for the flu vaccine because it gave me hives and basically they allergy test you and if it's safe they give you a little bit of the vaccine at a time to see how you tolerate it. My allergist said he's done this a lot and it's rare that he can't give the vaccine at the end.