Since the beginning of 2024, vaccination coverage of children against hepatitis B has been 61%.
This was reported by the Ministry of Health.
For three months of 2024, vaccination coverage among children is 61%, low rates among children under one year old are in Kherson (7.7%), Chernivtsi (27.8%), Ternopil (28.2%), Transcarpathian (34%), Lviv (44.5%), Odessa (47%) regions. Doctors note the importance of vaccination against hepatitis B, especially in the first days of a child’s life. There are currently 510,818 doses of vaccines available in the country – every region is provided with them.
Hepatitis B is a life-threatening infection of the liver caused by the hepatitis B virus. Chronic hepatitis B has no cure, but can be prevented through vaccination.
Hepatitis is more dangerous for children under one year of age. It is at this age that there is a 90% chance that hepatitis B will become a chronic disease. The risk decreases as the child gets older. Approximately 30-50% of children infected between the ages of 1 and 6 years develop chronic hepatitis B. 20-30% of people infected with hepatitis B in childhood subsequently develop cirrhosis and liver cancer, the ministry notes.
Vaccination effectively prevents infection and the appearance of chronic consequences in 96%. Protection lasts for at least 20 years, and in some cases throughout life.
According to the National Schedule of Preventive Vaccinations, a child must receive three doses of the vaccine: the first vaccination – within 24 hours after birth (WHO recommends vaccinating newborn children against hepatitis B as soon as possible); second vaccination – at two months; third vaccination – at six months. If the child was not vaccinated on time, then vaccination is carried out according to the “0-1-6” scheme, that is, the second vaccine is administered a month after the first, the third – in the sixth month.
Last year, according to the Ministry of Health, 66% of children received vaccinations against hepatitis B, the lowest rates were in Ivano-Frankivsk (46.6%), Transcarpathian (47.8%), Khmelnitsky (50.8%), Lviv ( 56) .1%), Vinnytsia (57.4%) and Odessa (58.2%) regions.