{"id":75832,"date":"2025-10-01T14:35:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T21:35:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=75832"},"modified":"2025-10-01T14:35:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T21:35:01","slug":"what-trump-got-wrong-about-the-hepatitis-b-vaccine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=75832","title":{"rendered":"What Trump Got Wrong About the Hepatitis-B Vaccine"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_65 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_65\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span><a class=\"tdb-author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/americancommunitymedia.org\/author\/sunita\/\">Sunita Sohrabji<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_66 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_66\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><i class=\"tdb-date-icon tdc-font-fa tdc-font-fa-calendar\"><\/i><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2025-09-30T17:01:06-07:00\">Sep 30, 2025<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_67 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_67\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>The most common transmitter of Hepatitis-B is mothers to child infection. Babies should be vaccinated against the disease at birth, says hepatologist Dr. Maurizio Bonacini.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_68 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_68\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"entry-thumb td-animation-stack-type0-2\" title=\"Infant\" src=\"https:\/\/americancommunitymedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Infant-scaled-e1759276545645.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"812\" \/><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">(Craig Pattenaude photo via Unsplash\/copyright free)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_69 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_69\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>President Donald Trump is incorrect in characterizing Hepatitis-B as a sexually-transmitted disease and also wrong for suggesting that Hep-B vaccines be delivered in pre-adolescence rather than birth, said hepatologist Dr. Maurizio Bonacini.<\/p>\n<p>The most common transmitter of Hepatitis-B \u2014 a virus that infects the liver and can cause cancer or cirrhosis \u2014 is mother to child transmission, said Bonacini, speaking at a Sept. 26 American Community Media news briefing. \u201cA mother is very highly viremic. Typically, she doesn\u2019t know it. And then she\u2019ll transmit to the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201dThe problem with this is that a baby that doesn\u2019t have any protection at birth, and if it gets hepatitis B, it essentially will keep the hepatitis B for life, about 90%. Whereas if you give a birth dose vaccine, you can decrease that to the single digit number. So it makes a big difference,\u201d said Bonacini, CEO of Mission Gastroenterology and Hepatology\u00a0and associate clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio  is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper video-seo-youtube-embed-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video-seo-youtube-player\" data-id=\"W9CQrDir7Es\">\n<div class=\"video-seo-youtube-embed-loader\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-id=\"W9CQrDir7Es\" aria-label=\"Load YouTube video\"><picture class=\"video-seo-youtube-picture\"><source class=\"video-seo-source-to-maybe-replace\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/W9CQrDir7Es\/maxresdefault.jpg\" media=\"(min-width: 801px)\" \/><source class=\"video-seo-source-hq\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/W9CQrDir7Es\/hqdefault.jpg\" media=\"(max-width: 800px)\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"td-animation-stack-type0-2\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/W9CQrDir7Es\/hqdefault.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" \/><\/picture>\n<div class=\"video-seo-youtube-player-play\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cIf you vaccinate babies at birth, and then you give them the three doses of vaccine to finish in the first few months of life, you very much decrease the chance of liver cancer,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-silent-killer\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2018Silent Killer\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Hepatitis-B is often called the \u201csilent killer,\u201d as people infected with the virus are unlikely to know until they are stricken with a disease of the liver. The virus is particularly prevalent in South and East Asian communities. But as vaccines are introduced, infection rates have dropped, said Bonacini.<\/p>\n<p>Previously in mainland China, about 8 to 10% of the population at large was infected with Hep-B. Now that rate has dropped to 4%. Immigrants from India have an estimated 4% carriage rate, noted Bonacini, who has been conducting outreach with the South Asian American community to make them aware of the illness.<\/p>\n<p>The disease currently has no cure. However, if the infection is identified early, a daily drug regimen can keep the virus under control and lessen the chances of liver damage.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-trump-s-recommendations\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Trump\u2019s Recommendations<\/h2>\n<p>Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than HIV, notes the Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia. Prior to the introduction of the Hep-B vaccine in 1991, about 18,000 each year in the US would become infected by the age of 10; 90% would carry the disease for life. But last year, just 20 children in the US were reported to be born with the infection.<\/p>\n<p>At a Sept 21 press conference \u2014 alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., National Institutes of Health director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, and Dr Mehmet Oz, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services \u2014 Trump declared: \u201cHepatitis B is sexually transmitted. There\u2019s no reason to give a baby that\u2019s almost just born Hepatitis B.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo I would say, wait till the baby is 12 years old and formed and take Hepatitis B. And I think if you do those things, it\u2019s going to be a whole revolution in a positive sense in the country,\u201d stated the President.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=AmCommMedia&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1973129674718060660&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Famericancommunitymedia.org%2Fhealth-care%2Fwhat-trump-got-wrong-about-the-hepatitis-b-vaccine%2F&amp;sessionId=0f6a624c9796f47ae4c0319d6bcebd4404adc1e0&amp;siteScreenName=AmCommMedia&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1973129674718060660\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which met Sept. 18-19, was expected to issue new guidelines on the Hep-B vaccine, overthrowing the current protocol of vaccination at birth. However, ACIP has delayed its recommendations.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-testing\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Testing<\/h2>\n<p>Bonacini noted current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, which advise all adults between 19-59 to get tested for Hepatitis-B, using a three-prong strategy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just came back from this meeting in Accra, Ghana, where people don\u2019t get tested because they don\u2019t have money. Well, in the United States, we don\u2019t get tested because we ignore the problems.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo it\u2019s a worldwide issue. And the World Health Organization\u2019s goal of viral hepatitis elimination by 2030, unfortunately, is not going to be achievable, neither here in the United States, a resource-rich country, or in developing countries as well,\u201d said Bonacini. He noted that the US is poised to lag behind the developing world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BySunita Sohrabji Sep 30, 2025 The&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=75832"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75833,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75832\/revisions\/75833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=75832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=75832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=75832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}