Vaccine Safety, Hepatitis A

The safety of drugs that protect against hepatitis A is considered high. Since even after a single injection after 30 days, 99% of children develop protection against the hepatitis A virus, vaccines effectively suppress the outbreak of such an infection.

In addition, the administration of the hepatitis A vaccine does not affect the administration of any other vaccines.

Reactions to the introduction of a vaccine against hepatitis A is almost never. Even if they appear, they flow easily and quickly. Within 48 hours after the injection, local changes can occur (short pain, redness, swelling), as well as lethargy, weakness, fever, extremely rarely nausea and headaches.

Preparation before vaccination

Vaccinated only healthy children, so before the introduction of the vaccine, it is important to ensure that the child has no acute illness.

For this baby, a pediatrician must inspect and draw conclusions as to whether it is safe for a child to have hepatitis A immunization.

The minimum age of the child and the frequency of vaccination

Hepatitis A vaccine can be given to children over 1 year old. It is carried out for epidemiological reasons, for example, during an outbreak of the disease in a children’s team, a trip to a region with a high incidence or infection of a close relative.

Vaccination scheme

Twice vaccination is most often used because it provides longer immunity from hepatitis A. After the administration of a single dose of the drug, the child is protected for 12-18 months – it is recommended to repeat the administration of the vaccine during this period.

The optimal time for revaccination is considered 6-12 months from the moment of the first injection of the vaccine.

Where do the injection?

Hepatitis A vaccine is administered intramuscularly. If the child is small, the thigh muscle is chosen as the site for the injection, and in older children, the drug can be injected into the deltoid muscle.

The introduction of the vaccine in the gluteus muscle in our days is not practiced.

Some drugs can be injected under the skin, but intravenous injection is absolutely contraindicated.

Pros

• By instilling a child against hepatitis A, you will help him avoid long-term illness and recovery. Since there is no special treatment for such a disease (medications only support the liver and reduce intoxication), it takes weeks or even months to recover.
• Most people already after the introduction of a dose of vaccine within a month after the injection form a high protection against the hepatitis A virus.
• Serious negative reactions to such a vaccine are practically not observed.
• Vaccination against hepatitis A is included in the national calendars of countries such as the USA, China, Israel, Argentina and others.
• It is especially important to vaccinate against hepatitis A children who have liver disease, because the acquisition of this infection for them can result in very serious complications.
• Vaccines are usually represented by a syringe dose, so there are no errors in the dosage of drugs.

Arguments against

Although extremely rare, hepatitis A vaccination may be accompanied by side reactions, both local and systemic.

What is dangerous disease?

The virus affects the liver and can cause both a mild form of hepatitis A and a rather serious illness. Since it is transmitted from person to person, as well as through contaminated food and water, there are often outbreaks and epidemics of this type of hepatitis, especially in children’s groups.

Although, unlike other types of hepatitis, this infectious disease does not cause chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis, however, hepatitis A can significantly impair health with a long-term course. In addition, there is a fulminant form of such hepatitis, causing acute liver damage and frequent death.

Hepatitis A is rarely severe in young children (under 6 years of age), but in older children and adults, the disease can be very bad for the liver and can be life-threatening.

Children are more at risk of contracting such hepatitis who:

• They are in a closed collective;
• They live next to a sick person;
• They live in a dormitory;
• Not provided with purified drinking water;
• We arrived in the region where there is a high incidence of hepatitis A.

Contraindications

Hepatitis A vaccination is not available if:

• There is intolerance to the components of the vaccine;
• There was a pronounced reaction to the previous introduction;
• The child has an acute disease – it is possible to inoculate in two to four weeks after recovery, and if the baby has a light SARS or acute intestinal infection, the vaccine can be administered as soon as the body temperature returns to normal.

What to do with negative reactions after vaccination?

A vaccine is usually tolerated very easily, and if side effects appear, they are mild and disappear within 48 hours without treatment. Emerging fever can be eliminated with antipyretic drugs.

If local changes occur, the site of rubbing should not be rubbed or medicated.