Originally Posted by Englishmum

Come to think of it, the Hep B vaccination might not be necessary for a few years yet. Check with the Board of Education for the town you will be moving to and sending your child to school.

When we moved to the US my son went straight into Grade 6 at Middle school in New Jersey (he was nearly 12 years old). Hep B vaccinations were not mandatory unless they were going to enroll at the local public high school (from Grade 9 and up).

I wasn't that keen on my son having the Hep B vaccincation as Hepatitis B is contracted via blood-to-blood or by sexual activity....I asked my son's doctor about it and he said "you would be surprised how many teens are having sex by the time they go to high school".

TBH I've never had any objections to all the usual childhood vaccinations such as MMR, diptheria, tetanus, whooping cough etc, it's just that Hep B isn't something that one would normally contract in a similar way to say, measles. Some parents don't get their kids vaccinated for Hep B (or other types of vaccinations) by producing a letter stating that they don't allow it for 'religious reasons'.

On the other hand, I wish that they would do the BCG vaccination for tuberculosis in the US, especially since so many people travel around the world these days. One local family employed a nanny from South America...it turned out that she had TB and the whole family and pupils at one of the town's elementary school had to be tested in case they had also contracted it.....

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

My daughter had to have the Hep B shot in 1996...she was going into 6th grade.

Originally Posted by Englishmum

I managed to get it delayed until my son was about to start high school (Grade 9) in 2003.

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

I thought it was mandatory until I joined BE...some members said they had opted out of the shots for 'religious' reasons. I had no idea you could do that.

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

I thought it was mandatory until I joined E...some members said they had opted out of the shots for 'religious' reasons. I had no idea you could do that.

Originally Posted by penguinsix

Depends on the state, some do and some don't. For immigration immunizations I don't believe there are any exceptions.

Originally Posted by Englishmum

NJ State law is that a child entering a public high school needs to have the Hep B vaccination.

Perhaps it was different for your daughter JG as I know she went to a private school and they probably set their own admission criteria.