# Hospital Contacts Mothers Over Ineffective Hepatitis B Vaccines Given To Babies

- Link: https://stayathomemum.com.au/family/kids/hospital-contacts-mothers-over-ineffective-hepatitis-b-vaccines-given-to-babies/
- Published: 2017-01-31T10:32:47+11:00
- Author: Clare Whitfield

## _A Sydney hospital�has been recently contacting mothers who gave birth there�regarding the administration of ineffective Hepatitis B vaccines to their newborns._

Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital admitted that babies born in the hospital and who received
�the critical vaccination between 29 November 2016 and 22 January 2017 may be affected.

> In a statement issued yesterday, Dr Stephen Conaty from NSW Health said, “Bankstown-
> Lidcombe Hospital is contacting mothers to advise them that their infant may have
> received an ineffective Hepatitis B�vaccine at birth, after a fridge that stored
> routine vaccines was found to have low temperature readings. Vaccines are temperature
> sensitive biological substances that can become less effective if they get too
> warm or two cold.”

A total of 282 mothers are being contacted.

[⌊Hospital contacts mothers over ineffective hepatitis b vaccines given to their
newborns | stay at home mum⌉⌊Hospital contacts mothers over ineffective hepatitis
b vaccines given to their newborns | stay at home mum⌉[

So far, six infants have been offered an additional vaccination while three mothers
who received a vaccination for whooping cough after giving birth have also been 
administered an extra dose.

However, Dr Conaty said that affected parents need not do anything except to ensure
their child received further vaccinations as per the immunisation schedule.

In the statement, he reassured the community that receiving a less effective vaccine
is ‘not harmful.’ “However some babies may not have received important early protection
against Hepatitis B,” he added.

The�[Better Health Channel](https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/hepatitis-b)_
�_defined Hepatitis B�as a serious viral infection that may cause critical illness
or death, and�is spread by contact with the blood of an infected person. This can
be transferred from a pregnant mother to her baby. However, in up to 40 per cent
of cases the cause of the infection can not be identified.

Source:�[Kidspot.com.au](http://www.kidspot.com.au/health/baby-health/immunisation/ineffective-hep-b-vaccines-given-to-newborns-at-bankstown-hospital)

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 Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

 Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical
home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney,
she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school 
age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience
in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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