Noele Nelson

Professor of Practice

Noele Nelson, a hepatitis expert at Cornell Public Health, served as a senior author on the C.D.C.’s previous guidelines for the vaccine. 

Nelson says:

“Administering the hepatitis B vaccine at birth is the foundation of hepatitis B prevention among infants and a cornerstone of hepatitis B virus elimination efforts. The 99% decline in reported acute hepatitis B cases from 1990-2019 among people under the age of 19 illustrates the achievement of implementing universal infant and childhood vaccination.

“Even short delays in initiating the hepatitis B vaccine series risks compromising this progress by leading to substantially more infections, long-term health consequences, and increased costs.

 “The three-dose hepatitis B vaccine series provides protection for 95% of healthy infants overall. Testing for protective antibodies prior to series completion is not best clinical practice and may not provide clinically relevant results. Completing the hepatitis B vaccine series gives the infant the best chance for protection and long-term immunity.”