Adult Hep A Vaccine and Employment

[MaddieMay]

I recently was hired by the government to supervise employees as a child development center (like a daycare). During my pre-employment physical today, they told me I "needed" a Hep A vaccine. The sheet they gave me said it wasn't required, but the nurse pulled out some manual that said it was. Regardless...

I will not be in direct contact with children all day. I will be in the classroom at times, but more in a modeling/observation mode. Theoretically, the children will all have been vaccinated against Hep A anyways.

I do, however, travel quite often. While I stay mostly in the touristy areas, I anticipate we'll be traveling to Egypt and Eastern Europe within the next year.

We are TTC. The nurse claimed it was safe, even if I were to get pregnant but I'm just not sure.

I am very healthy. I rarely get sick and when I do, it's minor.

I was fully vaccinated up until I was an adult and don't have a history of reaction. I do not get the flu shot, as I see it unnecessary.

The nurse claimed they could deny me employment if I didn't get it, but I know part of it was she was defensive about it because I didn't go along with it immediately. She wanted to send me down to the lab to get it and when I told her I wanted some time to ponder, her attitude changed. My bigger question is: Is this a valid vaccine for me to have? What would you do?

[LindsayK]

Hi! I recently went through the decision of whether or not to get the Hep A vaccine. I am going to be traveling to Peru for a wedding in January, staying with a local family, traveling around, and sampling all the local food. I'm currently delaying/non-vaxing with my daughter, so when the issue of getting myself vaccinated came up, I knew to do a lot of reading before I made any decision!

I learned that the majority of children that get Hep A are asymptomatic (something like 70%) and that about 30% of the adult population has had Hep A (most don't know it) So, I decided that if it ever comes up, I won't vaccinate my daughter for it while she's a kid, because I'd much rather her have a natural immunity to it, and not risk vaccine dangers. However, the anecdotal accounts of adults getting Hep A suggest that its pretty nasty and long lasting. The average adult loses about a month of work due to sickness, and the recurrance rate is not low. For me, I've always been in a very low risk category for Hep A exposure, and can't remember having any food related illness, so I figured that it was rather unlikely I was immune. I could have gotten tested to actually confirm that this was the case, but I decided to just get vaccinated against Hep A.

In your case, it seems as though you have two separate issues - whether you actually need to be vaccinated to comply with the terms of your employment, and whether or not you feel as though you should have the vaccination due to your travels.

To the first point, I would really research out whether or not you are absolutely required to have the vaccination. The nurse may or may not have the most current information or correct regulations, or might have a personal agenda to push. In any case, really make sure you know what is required before you act, and don't be afraid to keep asking for clarification. Another thought - if you got tested for Hep A, and were positive for prior exposure, could you opt out of the vaccination?

To the second point, if you are worried about overseas travel and exposure, you should do some more research on rates of infection where you are going, think about where you will be eating while traveling, etc. I remember from my reading that it is also possible to get "immune globulin" to get protection against Hep A, which theoretically gives you about three months of protection. Something to consider.

Good luck with your decision making!

Lindsay