The doctor started her Hep B vaccine as soon as she arrived, before we even had the results. We plan to go to Vietnam late this summer to adopt our baby boy around 6 months old. Careful Mom Dear Careful, Congratulations on adopting from China and from Vietnam. What a wonderful family you have created. The reason why we recommend retesting in six months from the time of adoption is that the last possible exposure for the baby in the orphanage is in the orphanage just before he leaves with his adoptive parents.
Testing initially is for the usual route of infection which is vertical from mother to infant.
In Southeast Asia, Hepatitis B is endemic and the route of infection is from mothers who are carriers. There is no rush to vaccinate a child for Hepatitis B as long as the child is not living in a household with a family member who is a carrier. If one is adopting an adolescent, then I guess vaccinating the teenager with Hep B vaccine would be imperative because Hep B is a sexually transmitted disease and adolescents are sexually active. There is no harm in vaccinating immediately after the test is negative when the child first arrives. There is also no harm in vaccinating someone who ends up being a carrier.