POST 01383E: HepB VACCINATION SCHEDULE

POST 01383E: HepB VACCINATION SCHEDULE 4 FEBRUARY 2009 ****************************************** We have a question from Dr Sajad ([[email protected]][email protected][/email]), the National EPI Training officer in the Ministry of Public Health Afghanistan. He asks: If a person receives the Hep B monovalent vaccine, but does not complete the doses within the determined timeframe, and returns late for the next dose, should the vaccine schedule be completed or restarted from the first dose? Dr Steve Wiersma ([[email protected]][email protected][/email]) responds: Available immunogenicity data from “off-schedule” vaccination suggest that, if the series is interrupted after the first dose, the second dose should be administered as soon as possible and the second and third doses should be separated by an interval of at least 2 months; if only the third dose is delayed, it should be administered as soon as possible.332–335 In any age group, interruption of the vaccination schedule does not require restarting the vaccine series. 332. Duval B, Deceuninck G. Seroprotection rates after late doses of hepatitis B vaccine. Pediatrics 2002 Feb; 109(2):350–1. 333. Halsey NA, Moulton LH, O'Donovan JC, Walcher JR, Thoms ML, Margolis HS, Krause DS. Hepatitis B vaccine administered to children and adolescents at yearly intervals. Pediatrics 1999 Jun; 103(6 Pt 1): 1243–7. 334. Mangione R, Stroffolini T, Tosti ME, Fragapani P, Mele A. Delayed third hepatitis B vaccine dose and immune response. Lancet 1995 Apr; 345(8957): 1111–2. 335. Keyserling HL, West DJ, Hesley TM, Bosley C, Wiens BL, Calandra GB. Antibody responses of healthy infants to a recombinant hepatitis B vaccine administered at two, four, and twelve or fifteen months of age. J Pediatr 1994 Jul; 125(1):67–9. From Hepatitis B Chapter in Plotkin SA, Orenstein WA, Offit PA, eds. Vaccines. 5th ed., Saunders Elsevier, 2008. Post generated using Mail2Forum (http://www.mail2forum.com)