The parents of a newborn baby vaccinated without consent for Hepatitis B have gone to the press to express their outrage for the oversight.
Mom, Catherine McHutchison, claimed that she gave birth to her son via C-section at the Lake Norman Regional Medical Center in February 2022. Before her procedure, she has explicitly expressed to her doctors and the nursing staff that she and her husband do not want the Hepatitis B vaccine for their baby.
The mother also signed a refusal form that she showed Queen City News. It showed an X mark over the box for declining the shot, although the McHutchison family never detailed the reason for not wanting the vaccine, which was well within their rights.
Hours after the C-section, a nursing staff approached McHutchison, who was still heavily medicated, to inform the mother that her newborn baby was vaccinated without consent for Hepatitis B. Apparently, a nurse in training failed to verify consent even though there was no vaccination order for this particular case in their system.
The Apology Letter Can't Undo the Vaccination
McHutchison left Lake Norman Regional Medical Center the next day while still recovering from the C-section. The mother said she felt uncomfortable staying at the hospital, knowing some nurses were negligent of their work.
This was not what the family expected to experience with the birth of their second child. Instead of welcoming a new family member, the McHutchisons had to deal with a terrible experience.
Worst, the hospital only sent an apology letter to the family, indicating that they made "corrective actions" for the staff involved. The hospital also said they reviewed and revised the consenting process to avoid confusion. An internal investigation is also underway.
Yet, McHutchison said that whatever the hospital did would never undo that her newborn son had been vaccinated without consent.
"It took a lot out of the whole experience for me," the mother said, per WGN9 News.
Guidelines for Hepatitis B Vaccination
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), administering Hepatitis B vaccine in newborns must be done with consent within the first 24 hours of the birth. Two booster shots will follow when the baby is within the first two months and then again before the baby reaches 18 months.
Babies are at risk because Hepatitis B may come from the food chewed for them, a cut or open sore with blood, or through sharing toothbrushes and utensils with family members. For many patients, Hepatitis B infection symptoms could be non-existent or mild, hence the risk of infection because carriers might not be aware they have the virus. Some patients may develop chronic and lifelong conditions associated with Hepatitis B, which does not have any cure.
The CDC said that the vaccine had been proven safe and effective in protecting babies from contracting a "potentially serious disease" in the liver as they grow older. Some U.S. schools mandate this vaccine shot before the kids can be enrolled.
Related Article: Do's and Don'ts of Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy Among Family Members
