Vaccination of children against hepatitis B

On 1 March 2003, the National Vaccination Programme (NVP) was extended to include vaccination for the children of families in which one or both parents come from a country where hepatitis B is common. Such children are at increased risk of coming into contact with carriers, whether within the family, within their social circle in the Netherlands or when visiting their parent’s (or parents’) country of origin. This vaccination was prompted by an advisory report which the Health Council produced in 2001. These children are vaccinated with half a dose of vaccine (‘child dose’) on three separate occasions, at the ages of two months, four months and eleven months.