Area Clinics Offer Free Hepatitis B Vaccinations

Anticipating the need to vaccinate 135,000 seventh-graders against potentially deadly hepatitis B, Los Angeles County health officials have begun a massive campaign to offer free vaccinations at county clinics.

Under a new state law that takes effect July 1, students cannot enter, advance to or repeat the seventh grade if they have not received the vaccine, which is given in three doses over a six-month period.

The immunization, offered free at county clinics, including at least seven in the San Fernando Valley, could cost more than $100 through private physicians.

“The risks of developing [the condition] are high, and when you get it, it’s such a horrible disease,” said Dr. Akiko Kimura, medical director of the county immunization program. “There’s no magic medicine. This is one of those cases where prevention is more important than the cure.”

There is no cure for chronic hepatitis B, for which symptoms include vomiting, mild fever, fatigue, nausea, muscle and joint aches, and jaundice. The disease can cause cirrhosis, or painful swelling of the liver, liver cancer and death. Up to 25% of those infected develop serious chronic liver disease.

Kimura said that hepatitis B, which like HIV is spread through contact with infected bodily fluids, is 100 times more contagious than HIV. The hepatitis B virus can be transmitted through sexual activity with an infected person, sharing intravenous needles, blood-to-blood contact during sports, and by an infected mother to her infant, she said.

Parents, who are being alerted to the new law by their children’s schools, should start now to get their kids immunized, Kimura said. “All the clinics will be packed if they wait until starting school,” she said.

All three shots are necessary to ensure long-term protection, said Dr. Loring Dales of the immunization branch of the state Department of Health Services. The full series of shots offers immunity from 20 years to life, he said.

The high-risk years for contracting hepatitis B are early adulthood, and the highest incidence of new infections occurs between ages 15 and 35, Dales said.

Nationwide, about 200,000 people become infected with the virus annually, and 11,000 of them are hospitalized, according to Kimura. About half of those infected do not show symptoms and a small number of people, known as chronic carriers, will carry the virus for years. Four thousand to 5,000 people with hepatitis B die yearly, she said.

Vaccinating Los Angeles County seventh-graders could prevent about 5,600 cases of hepatitis B infection, 340 chronic illnesses and 50 deaths, Kimura said.

Another state law that took effect in 1997 requires that kindergartners receive the hepatitis B vaccine. Concern among public health officials that too many older students were entering school systems without full vaccinations prompted the passage of the latest law on hepatitis B, which is aimed at kids who have already started school or who haven’t been fully vaccinated, officials said.

Legislation signed in 1997 adopted national immunization recommendations drafted by pediatricians and family physicians. Similar regulations have been enacted in Florida, Colorado and about 25 other states.

For information about county health clinics offering free vaccinations, call (800) 427-8700.

Times staff writers Agnes Diggs and Tina Nguyen contributed to this story.

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Immunizing Against Hepatitis B

Under a new state law that takes effect July 1, students cannot enter, advance to or repeat the seventh grade if they have not received the hepatitis B vaccine, which is given in three doses over a six-month period.

Liver disease

Hepatitis B is a disease that causes inflammation of the liver. This can cause liver cell damage, which can lead to cirrhosis and an increased risk of liver cancer. Blood tests will determine if there has been an infection.

Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule

Approved by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Dose 1: Birth-2 mos.

Dose 2: 1 mo.-4 mos.

Dose 3: 6 mos.-15 mos.

Catch-up*: 11-12 yrs.

* Given to those not previously vaccinated.

Immunization Facilities:

Some clinics in the Valley where you can get immunized:

*

Mid-Valley CHC

8121 Van Nuys Blvd.

Panorama City

(818) 947-4026

*

Glendale Health Center

501 N. Glendale Ave.

(818) 500-5750

*

Burbank Health Center

1101 W. Magnolia Blvd.

Burbank

(818) 557-3501

*

North Hollywood Health Center

5300 Tujunga Ave.

North Hollywood

(818) 766-3981

*

San Fernando Health Center

604 S. Maclay Ave.

San Fernando

(818) 837-6969

*

Tujunga Health Center

7747 Foothill Blvd.

Tujunga

(818) 352-1417

*

Pacoima Health Center

13300 Van Nuys Blvd.

Pacoima

(818) 896-1903

*

For more information on clinics offering free immunizations, call the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services information line at (800) 427-8700.

Source: Los Angeles County Department of Health Services