Magical thinking will not prevent future pandemics or improve public health

Magical thinking will not prevent future pandemics or improve public health
The exact prevalence of hepatitis B in the US is unknown, with estimates between 660,000 and 2.2 million people. As many as 50% are unaware of their infection status, meaning that universal immunization to create population immunity is the best way to protect the population and to eliminate maternal-infant hepatitis B transmission. Hepatitis B vaccination at birth also protects children from infection through contact with infected caregivers and household members as well as in other settings which—prior to 1991—accounted for a substantial number of infections. As a physician who was a volunteer in the original efficacy trial for the recombinant hepatitis B vaccine in the mid-1980s, I have a particular interest in this vaccine and have followed it closely. It is exceedingly safe and highly efficacious.
