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Hepatitis A infection is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. This activity will describe how to prevent this infection through the use of vaccination. It will also illustrate the importance of Hepatitis A vaccination and how it is an effective way to combat this disease alongside efforts to enhance food safety and improving sanitation. It will mention the risk factors, individuals at high risk, methods of vaccine administration, doses, indications, and contraindications. Objectives: Describe the characteristics of the hepatitis A virus. Summarize the at-risk populations for hepatitis A disease. Explain the various types of available hepatitis A vaccines along with their dosages, administration, indications, and contraindications. Review the importance of improving care coordination among interprofessional team members to improve the rate of hepatitis A vaccination. Access free multiple choice questions on this topic.

Studies have not reported any vaccine overdoses of the hepatitis A vaccine. There has been researching into the aluminum adjuvant added to HAV. The serum concentration of aluminum from vaccines administered to infants during the first year of life show levels well below the minimum risk level established by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.[8] In the first six months of life, the exposure to aluminum from vaccination is negligible (about 4.4 milligrams of aluminum-only 0.225 to 0.25 mg/dose in HAV). Far more aluminum exposure comes from an infant's diet: with formula-fed infants receiving as high as 38 to 40 mg and the soy-fed infants ingesting around 117 mg of aluminum during the first six months of life from the formulas, respectively. Breast-fed infants have lower exposure to about 7 milligrams during the same time amount of time.[6][9]

Vaccination providers, including the pharmacist and nurse practitioner, commonly encounter persons who do not have adequate immunization documentation. Only written, dated records should be used as evidence of vaccination. If records are not available, these patients should receive their age-appropriate vaccination schedule or have serologic testing to determine immunity. However, not all commercially available serologic tests are sensitive enough for the detection of vaccine-induced immunity.[1] Vaccination administration should be as close to the recommended intervals as possible. An interruption in the vaccination schedule does not require restarting the entire hepatitis A vaccine series or the addition of extra doses.[1] Only severe allergy to a prior HAV is a valid contraindication to vaccination. Misperceptions by healthcare providers result in missed opportunities to administer recommended vaccinations and should be avoided. Routine physical examinations are not necessary for vaccinating persons who appear to be healthy. Interprofessional coordination and information sharing between interprofessional team members, including clinicians, mid-level practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists, will improve vaccination adherence and infection prophylaxis. This will results from accurate vaccination history, knowledge of vaccination schedules, and understanding individual patient risks for infection. Through open communication between various disciplines, the hepatitis A vaccine can achieve its intended clinical result. [Level 5]