The simple answer is ‘no’ according to Dr Brian Hughes, Infectious Diseases Physician and hepatitis specialist at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle. Hepatitis A vaccine is highly immunogenic and works just as well for people with HIV. It doesn’t lose effectiveness over time so a booster is never needed. Hepatitis B (HBV) vaccination is different and a small proportion of all recipients don’t get an adequate antibody response to the vaccine. The lower your CD4 count, the more likely you will not get a response. Therefore, double dosing is initially recommended for people whose CD4 count is less than 350. Testing for a response is then recommended for those with significant immunosuppression and if no response is recorded a further double dose can be given. If there is still no response then yearly testing for possible HBV infection is recommended.
Should positive people get booster hepatitis shots?
From the July 2008 issue of Positive Living • By David Menadue
This article was first published in July 2008.
While the content of this article was checked for accuracy at the time of publication, NAPWA recommends checking to determine whether the information is the most up-to-date available, especially when making decisions which may affect your health.
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Posted online: 22 July 2008.
Last updated: 22 July 2008.
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