Hepatitis A vaccine

Hepatitis A vaccine
Havrix junior monodose (hepatitis A) for children
Vaccine description
TargetHepatitis A virus
Vaccine typeInactivated or attenuated
Clinical data
Trade namesHavrix, others
AHFS/Drugs.comMonograph
MedlinePlusa695003
Pregnancy
category
  • AU: B2
Routes of
administration
Intramuscular
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
  • AU: S4 (Prescription only)
  • US: ℞-only
  • EU: Rx-only[1]
  • In general: ℞ (Prescription only)
Identifiers
DrugBank
ChemSpider
  • none
UNII
 NY (what is this?)  (verify)

Hepatitis A vaccine is a vaccine that prevents hepatitis A.[2][3] It is effective in around 95% of cases and lasts for at least twenty years and possibly a person's entire life.[4] If given, two doses are recommended beginning after the age of one.[2] It is given by injection into a muscle.[2] The first hepatitis A vaccine was approved in the European Union in 1991, and the United States in 1995.[5] It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[6]

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends universal vaccination in areas where the disease is moderately common.[2] Where the disease is very common, widespread vaccination is not recommended as people typically develop immunity through infection during childhood.[2] The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends vaccinating:[7]

  • 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 an 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[8]

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.[8]

Severe side effects are very rare.[2] Pain at the site of injection occurs in about 15% of children and half of adults.[2] Most hepatitis A vaccines contain inactivated virus while a few contain weakened virus.[2] The ones with weakened virus are not recommended during pregnancy or in those with poor immune function.[2] A few formulations combine hepatitis A with either hepatitis B or typhoid vaccine.[2]

Soreness or redness where the shot is given, fever, headache, tiredness, or loss of appetite can happen after receiving the 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.[8]


  1. ^ "Havrix - referral". European Medicines Agency. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j World Health Organization (2012). "WHO position paper on hepatitis A vaccines – June 2012". Weekly Epidemiological Record. 87 (28/29): 261–76. hdl:10665/241938. PMID 22905367.
  3. ^ World Health Organization (2022). "WHO position paper on hepatitis A vaccines – October 2022". Weekly Epidemiological Record. 97 (40): 493–512. hdl:10665/363397.
  4. ^ "Clinical Overview of Hepatitis A". 19 January 2022.
  5. ^ Patravale V, Dandekar P, Jain R (2012). Nanoparticulate drug delivery perspectives on the transition from laboratory to market (1. publ. ed.). Oxford: Woodhead Pub. p. 212. ISBN 9781908818195.
  6. ^ World Health Organization (2023). The selection and use of essential medicines 2023: web annex A: World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 23rd list (2023). Geneva: World Health Organization. hdl:10665/371090. WHO/MHP/HPS/EML/2023.02.
  7. ^ Nelson NP, Weng MK, Hofmeister MG, Moore KL, Doshani M, Kamili S, et al. (July 2020). "Prevention of Hepatitis A Virus Infection in the United States: Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, 2020" (PDF). MMWR. Recommendations and Reports. 69 (5): 1–38. doi:10.15585/mmwr.rr6905a1. PMC 8631741. PMID 32614811.
  8. ^ a b c "Hepatitis A Vaccine Information Statement". U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). October 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.