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
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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 all people typically develop immunity through infection during childhood.[2] The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends vaccinating:[7]

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 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. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.