Don't Hesitate: Vaccinate!
Contributed by Joe Moakley, Member of Congress of the United States, House of
Representatives, 9th District, Massachusetts
In the early 1980s, I was diagnosed with hepatitis B. It has never been determined where
or how I contracted the virus. It may have been during a Congressional fact finding trip
to China at that time. That is one of the very frightening facts about hepatitis B. While
risk factors have been identified that are associated with viral transmission, up to 40%
of the cases of hepatitis B in adults have no known risk factors associated with
them.
By 1995, I was told by my doctors that I had about two months to live. In my case, the
hepatitis B virus had led to cirrhosis of the liver and this vital organ had deteriorated
beyond function.
I was terribly ill. I had no strength and I had
become severely jaundiced. But I was lucky; a liver transplant saved my life. Today I am
happy, healthy and so grateful that I have been able to celebrate 25 years in the United
States Congress.
Unfortunately, more than one and a quarter million Americans have hepatitis B, and up to
6000 Americans every year die from the complications associated with the hepatitis B
virus. All of the horrors that I endured could have been avoided if I had had available to
me the very safe and effective vaccine against hepatitis B that now exists. The three shot
series over a period of four to six months can protect most people from the agony of this
disease. I strongly encourage everyone to check with their provider about immunization against hepatitis B for themselves and for those they love. There is no reason for anyone
to suffer from this totally preventable disease.
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