My 9 year old son was diagnosed in two months ago. He took the first 2 rounds of the Hepatitis B vaccine just before he was diagnosed. We are wondering if this could have attacked his beta cells. Should we go ahead with the 3rd vaccination scheduled in the next few months?

There is no evidence that the Hepatitis B vaccine is linked to the onset of Type 1 diabetes. I would recommend proceeding with the third in the series.

MSB
Additional comments from Jeff Hitchcock, The Editor:

Whether there is a link between childhood vaccinations and an increased occurrence or risk of Type 1 diabetes is the subject of some debate. Dr. Bart Classen of Classen Immunotherapies argues that vaccines, including Hepatitis B, increase the occurrence of Type 1 diabetes. Most science today, however, concludes that vaccines do not increase the occurrence of Type 1 diabetes. For a recently published study, see Lack of association between early childhood immunizations and beta-cell autoimmunity.

JSH

[Editor’s comment: Dr. Classen’s reports related to immunizations can be found on his vaccines.net web site. The web site is run by Classen Immunotherapies, Inc., owned by John Barthelow Classen, M.D., and author of the reports. Also, see our page about immunizations and Questions and Answers about Diabetes and Vaccines from the Centers for Disease Control web site.

JSH]