PubMed Health⌕ Search
Home/Archive/PubMed

PubMed · 12154531

Measuring hepatitis B uptake in a new universal infant program.

Meenakshi Dawar·Simon Dobson·Arlene Kallos·Carol LaJeunesse·Shelagh Weatherill·Patricia Daly
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Vancouver-Richmond Health Board has the highest reported rate of hepatitis B in Canada, including an annual average of 25 cases in children under 12 years of age, based on reports from 1994-1997 inclusive. The current provincial adolescent grade-six hepatitis B immunization program does not protect against childhood infection. The regional health board implemented universal infant hepatitis B immunization in September 1998. METHOD: Immunization coverage data were obtained on a random sample of 191 infants born in March 1999 one year after initiation of the program. RESULTS: By eight months of age, 97.9% of children had received some vaccinations. 73.8% of infants had received three doses of hepatitis B vaccine and 12.6% had received two doses. In comparison, 89% had received three doses and 7.9% two doses of DPTP-Hib vaccine. 13.1% of infants had not received any hepatitis B vaccine. For a majority (67%) of these children, their physician's lack of awareness or lack of acceptance of the program constituted the reason for no hepatitis B vaccine uptake. Only one parent cited adverse publicity as the reason for refusing vaccination. INTERPRETATION: This survey reveals a successful first year of the program without harm to the pre-existing childhood vaccination programs. Hepatitis B vaccine uptake can be improved by increased awareness among physicians and parents.

Explore related subjects

British ColumbiaCohort StudiesFemaleHepatitis BHepatitis B VaccinesHumansImmunization ProgramsImmunization, SecondaryInfantMalePractice Patterns, Physicians'Program EvaluationRegional Health PlanningJournal Article

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Meenakshi Dawar, Simon Dobson, Arlene Kallos, Carol LaJeunesse, Shelagh Weatherill, Patricia Daly. Measuring hepatitis B uptake in a new universal infant program.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12154531/

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

PubMed2026

Implementation factors shaping British Columbia's drug decriminalization pilot: A systematic review with narrative synthesis.

BACKGROUND: In January 2023, British Columbia (BC) became the first Canadian province to implement a legally sanctioned drug decriminalization policy, removing criminal penalties for adults possessing 2.5 g or less of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, and MDMA. Introduced as a three-year pilot, it aimed to reframe substance use as a public health issue, reduce stigma, and improve health and social service engagement. Criminal penalties were reintroduced for drug possession in most public spaces in May 2024, and the pilot ended in January 2026. Its termination has been interpreted as policy failure; this review aimed to examine how the pilot was implemented in practice and to identify factors that shaped its operationalization and early implementation-relevant outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review with narrative synthesis of peer-reviewed literature examining implementation-relevant aspects of BC's decriminalization pilot. Six databases were searched (January-February 2026) for studies published May 31, 2022-February 1, 2026. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251271694). RESULTS: Twenty-seven studies were included. Four cross-cutting implementation barriers were identified: pilot design features, public and cross-sector communication gaps, limited frontline training, and insufficient funding and infrastructure. Design features included the 2.5 g possession threshold, misalignment with real-world drug use patterns; the three-year timeframe, which constrained system-level effects; and the May 2024 amendment, which introduced additional instability. The pilot was implemented without commensurate investment in harm reduction, treatment, or housing infrastructure, within already constrained systems. CONCLUSION: BC's decriminalization pilot suggests the effects of legal reform are shaped by implementation context. Early outcomes may reflect design features, institutional readiness, and system capacity rather than legal change alone; longer-term impacts remain uncertain. Future reforms should align legal change with coordinated implementation, operational guidance, public communication, and adequate service infrastructure.

British Columbia↗
PubMed2025

Genomic and morphological analysis reveals long-term mammoth hybridization in British Columbia, Canada.

Climate changes profoundly impact species distributions and can drastically alter dynamics between formerly isolated taxa. The evolution of mammoths within North America was characterized by repeated cycles of dispersal and putative gene flow between woolly and Columbian mammoths. However, as genome-wide studies on mammoths have predominantly focused on Siberia, the consequences of these North American range shifts remain unclear. Here, we generated genome-wide and morphological data for two Late Pleistocene mammoth molars from British Columbia, Canada (BC), and jointly analysed these with previously published data. Our genome-wide analysis (n = 16) revealed gene flow between woolly and Columbian mammoths that would have gone undiscovered based on morphological (n = 48) and mitochondrial analysis (n = 124) alone. Consistent with their hybrid nature, our analyses suggest that these two BC mammoths had elevated genomic diversity. Our results highlight the importance of combining data types to reconstruct past evolutionary events. These findings demonstrate how the geographical range expansion of woolly mammoths resulted in long-term hybridization with local Columbian mammoths and enhance our understanding of the genomic and morphological consequences of climate-mediated dispersal.

British Columbia↗