Who is recommended to receive HepA vaccine?

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends routine HepA vaccination for the following groups:

• All children at age 1 year (12–23 months)
• All children and adolescents age 2 through 18 years who have not previously received HepA should be vaccinated (i.e., routine catch-up vaccination)
• People living with HIV infection
• Travelers age 12 months and older to areas of the world with intermediate or high hepatitis A virus (HAV) endemicity. Low endemicity regions include the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. For more information, see the CDC travel health website for current information about specific countries at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel or the CDC Yellow Book. (wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2020/travel-related-infectious-diseases/hepatitis-a). When in doubt, vaccinate.
• Infants age 6 through 11 months traveling outside the United States should receive 1 dose when protection against HAV infection is recommended. The travel dose does not count toward the routine HepA series which should be initiated at age 1 year with the appropriate dose and schedule. In these instances, the child will receive a total of 3 doses of HepA vaccine.
• Men who have sex with men
• Users of illegal drugs, injectable or noninjectable
• People who are homeless or in unstable living arrangements, including shelters
• Previously unvaccinated people who anticipate having close personal contact with an international adoptee from a country of high or intermediate endemicity during the first 60 days following the adoptee’s arrival in the U.S.
• People who work with HAV-infected nonhuman primates or with HAV in a research laboratory setting
• People with chronic liver disease (including but not limited to people with hepatitis B infection, hepatitis C infection, cirrhosis, fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, autoimmune hepatitis, or an ALT or AST level persistently greater than twice the upper limit of normal)
• People identified during pregnancy to be at risk for HAV infection due to presence of a specific risk factor for exposure or at risk for severe outcome from HAV infection (for example, those with chronic liver disease or with HIV infection).
• During an outbreak, any unvaccinated person who is identified as at risk for HAV infection or at risk for severe disease from HAV
• Any person who wishes to be immune to hepatitis A

HepA vaccination is not routinely recommended for healthcare personnel, food handlers, sewage workers, or day care providers because there is no evidence that their occupational risks of HAV exposure are significantly higher than the general population. However, any person who desires protection from HAV infection may be vaccinated.

For details about CDC recommendations for the prevention of hepatitis A, see the 2020 recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP): www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/rr/pdfs/rr6905a1-H.pdf.