The Big Debate

 Probably the most controversial topic about any vaccine is its safety. For the hepatitis B vaccine in the United States, it has mostly been a battle between government agencies, such as the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and concerned parents. Although the CDC and the FDA both claim that the vaccine is completely safe, many people still have their doubts about whether this vaccine would help their children more than hurt them. 

After thimerosal, a preservative used in vaccines, was said to contain almost 50% mercury and could be linked to autism in young children, allegations and finger-pointing went ballistic. While CDC did a study in 2010 showing that thimerosal is not linked to autism, other organizations like the National Autism Association remain adamant that thimerosal can cause autism. Besides autism, thimerosal was said to be linked to multiple sclerosis and even birth defects also. Many studies done by independent scientists have shown that the hepatitis B vaccine does not cause multiple sclerosis. However, in a study done by Dr. Wakefield in 2009 showed that monkeys vaccinated with the Hepatitis B vaccine containing thimerosal had slower reflexes caused by some sort of brain defect. (See Dr. Wakefield's interview with a CBS correspondent to the below.)

Overwhelmed by concerns, biotechnology companies have made preservative-free vaccines since 1999, but the current preservative-free vaccine has not yet been proven to be safer. When the "Protecting America in the War of Terror Act of 2005" (see Impact on the World page) threatened to take away states' rights to ban thimerosal in vaccines, citizens across the country publicly opposed it as the battle over vaccines took a legal turn. To the relief of many, the bill did not pass. Although the debate has mostly died down in the United States during the past few years, plaintiffs in other countries such as Canada have sued cities for mandating the Hepatitis B vaccine.  

Ethics in biotechnology have long been a touchy subject without a completely right or wrong answer. With the Hepatitis B vaccine, the immediate reaction from the public was welcoming, until it was made mandatory for all newborns. Ever since the federal government mandated that all newborns should be vaccinated, this "loss of rights" to deny vaccination has angered some parents and humanitarians.  Understandably, required immunizations for newborns are for safety precautions and controlling spread of disease, but are the vaccines safe for individuals themselves? According to Merck, adverse reactions to the Hepatitis B vaccine range from hypersensitivity to tachycardia. However, the vaccine has never been studied in newborns and adverse reactions in young children are not known. In some cases, adverse reactions can even include brain swelling and death, as was the case with Lyla Rose Belkin (see side bar) in 1998.