12/09/2025
I do not love cirrhosis.
As a gastroenterologist, I spend my days treating diseases of the liver, so I want to be very clear about why the Hepatitis B vaccine at birth is so important. Hepatitis B is a virus that can silently infect the liver and, over time, lead to chronic inflammation, cirrhosis, liver failure, or even liver cancer. Adults who get Hep B often clear the virus, but newborns almost never do. If a baby is exposed at or shortly after birth, there is about a 90 percent chance they will develop a chronic lifelong infection.
Chronic Hepatitis B is especially dangerous because it causes slow, ongoing liver damage with very few symptoms until the disease is advanced. The birth dose vaccine protects babies from the very beginning, long before they encounter blood or bodily fluids from caregivers, siblings, or others who may be carrying the virus without knowing it. It also prevents transmission from a mother whose infection might not have been detected during pregnancy. From a liver-health perspective, this is one of the most effective, preventive steps we can take. A single vaccine at birth dramatically reduces the risk of future liver disease, and it protects your child for decades to come.
