Hepatitis B Vaccination of Adults

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends hepatitis B (HepB) vaccination among all adults aged 19–59 years and adults > 60 years with risk factors for hepatitis B or without identified risk factors but seeking protection.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that the following people should receive hepatitis B vaccination:

All infants
Unvaccinated children aged <19 years
Adults aged 19 through 59 years
Adults aged 60 years and older with risk factors for hepatitis B

The following groups may receive hepatitis B vaccination:

Adults aged 60 years and older without known risk factors for hepatitis B

Risk factors for hepatitis B

Persons at risk for infection by sexual exposure
- Sex partners of persons who test positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)
- Sexually active persons who are not in a long-term, mutually monogamous relationship (e.g., persons with more than one sex partner during the previous 6 months)
- Persons seeking evaluation or treatment for a sexually transmitted infection
- Men who have sex with men
Persons at risk for infection by percutaneous or mucosal exposure to blood
- Persons with current or recent injection use
- Household contacts of persons who test positive for HBsAg
- Residents and staff of facilities for persons with developmental disabilities
- Health care and public safety personnel with reasonably anticipated risk for exposure to blood or blood-contaminated body fluids
- Persons on maintenance dialysis, including in-center or home hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, and persons who are predialysis
- Persons with diabetes at the discretion of the treating clinician
Others
- International travelers to countries with high or intermediate levels of endemic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (HBsAg prevalence of ≥2%)
- Persons with hepatitis C virus infection
- Persons with chronic liver disease (including, but not limited to, persons with cirrhosis, fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, autoimmune hepatitis, or an alanine aminotransferase [ALT] or aspartate aminotransferase [AST] level greater than twice the upper limit of normal)
- Persons with HIV infection
- Incarcerated persons