Is it okay to have a long interval between the first and second doses of the infant hepatitis B vaccine?

Patient's question:

No

Doctor's answer:

For newborns, it is essential to follow the scheduled immunization timeline to administer the hepatitis B vaccine, which helps better produce hepatitis B surface antibodies to protect them. The hepatitis B vaccination schedule for newborns is at 0, 1, and 6 months. This means the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine should be administered within 12 hours after birth, followed by the second and third doses at 1 month and 6 months of age, respectively.