Q: My 7 days old baby has had the first dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine. She will receive the second dose of the vaccine next month. In the meantime, will her body be able to protect her from hepatitis B infection or not? I know she should get all the 3 doses of the vaccine but what will happen if she comes in contact with a person whose hepatitis B status is positive?

A:The baby will be fully protected only after all the three doses of vaccination. In the interim the child will be partially protected, and the chances of protection increase with the number of doses of vaccination. The exposure from a Hepatitis B positive person has to be intimate and mostly blood borne for it to be infective, a casual contact is unlikely to be infective.