You’re probably not thinking about sexually transmitted diseases
and intravenous drug abuse when your child is getting
vaccinated, but the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says
you should be. Lynda Brady, M.D., is a pediatrician at the
University of Chicago in Ill. “Hepatitis B occurs much more
often in high-risk groups than HIV does.” Acting on advice from
the AAP and the American Liver Foundation, many states now
require that children be vaccinated for hepatitis B — a disease
that spreads virtually the same way as the AIDS virus. “It’s not
that we’re trying to say your child will be an I-V drug abuser
or will have multiple sexual partners,” says Dr. Brady. “The
reason we do it in childhood is because that’s the time we give
vaccines.” Dr. Lynda Brady of the University of Chicago says in
countries like China, where childhood hepatitis B immunizations
are routine, cases have dropped dramatically. The biggest
problem in the U.S. has been parental education. A pilot program
by the San Francisco Department o