Whitney Linnenbringer

As a school nurse with 20 years of experience caring for our community’s children, I am writing to express my strong opposition to HB 1719, which seeks to remove Hepatitis B from the required immunization schedule. My primary responsibility is to ensure a safe learning environment. In a school setting, minor injuries, nosebleeds, and playground scrapes are daily occurrences. Many individuals who are infected with Hepatitis B do not know they carry the virus, yet they can still transmit it to others. Because Hepatitis B is stable and easily transmitted through contact with infected blood, even a small amount of blood on a shared surface or during an injury poses a real threat to unvaccinated students and staff. The timing of this vaccination is critical. The science is clear: the younger a child is when they contract Hepatitis B, the higher the risk of lifelong complications. Without the protection of the vaccine, as many as 9 out of 10 infants infected during their first year of life will develop a chronic infection. These chronic infections frequently lead to devastating outcomes later in life, including permanent liver scarring (cirrhosis), liver failure, and liver cancer. When a vaccine is removed from the required schedule, it creates significant barriers for parents by introducing insurance coverage confusion and potentially requiring additional doctor’s visits that may not be feasible for working families. By removing Hepatitis B from the immunization schedule, we are removing a proven shield that protects our children from a life-threatening disease they cannot see coming. We should be strengthening our public health defenses, not dismantling them. I urge you to vote NO on HB 1719 to keep our schools healthy and our children's futures secure. Whitney Linnenbringer, MSN, RN PED-BC, NH DOE Certified School Nurse III