Hepatitis A vaccine
Hepatitis A vaccine is a vaccine that prevents hepatitis A. It is effective in around 95% of cases and lasts for at least twenty years and possibly a person's entire life. If given, two doses are recommended beginning after the age of one. It is given by injection into a muscle. The first hepatitis A vaccine was approved in Europe in 1991, and the United States in 1995. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.
Havrix junior monodose (hepatitis A) for children | |
| Vaccine description | |
|---|---|
| Target | Hepatitis A virus |
| Vaccine type | Inactivated or attenuated |
| Clinical data | |
| Trade names | Biovac A, Havrix, Vaqta, others |
| AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
| MedlinePlus | a695003 |
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| Routes of administration | Intramuscular |
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The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends universal vaccination in areas where the disease is moderately common. Where the disease is very common, widespread vaccination is not recommended as all people typically develop immunity through infection during childhood. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends vaccinating:
- All children aged 12–23 months
- Unvaccinated children and adolescents aged 2–18 years
- International travelers
- Men who have sex with men
- People who use injection or non-injection drugs
- People who have occupational risk for infection
- People who anticipate close contact with an international adoptee
- People experiencing homelessness
- People with HIV
- People with chronic liver disease
- Any person wishing to obtain immunity
In addition, a person who has not previously received hepatitis A vaccine and who has direct contact with someone with hepatitis A should get hepatitis A vaccine within two weeks after exposure.
Severe side effects are very rare. Pain at the site of injection occurs in about 15% of children and half of adults. Most hepatitis A vaccines contain inactivated virus while a few contain weakened virus. The ones with weakened virus are not recommended during pregnancy or in those with poor immune function. A few formulations combine hepatitis A with either hepatitis B or typhoid vaccine.
Soreness or redness where the shot is given, fever, headache, tiredness, or loss of appetite can happen after hepatitis A vaccine. As with any medicine, there is a very remote chance of a vaccine causing a severe allergic reaction, other serious injury, or death.