Home / Ask The Experts / Should adult patients who are not asplenic but who have hypogammaglobulinemia receive Hib vaccine? The 2014 Hib ACIP statement includes immunoglobulin deficiency in its “high-risk groups” for Hib disease, but the recommendations seem to imply that Hib vaccine is not necessarily for adults with immunoglobulin deficiency whose spleen is intact. Am I interpreting ACIP correctly on this matter?

Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b)
Scheduling & Administration

Should adult patients who are not asplenic but who have hypogammaglobulinemia receive Hib vaccine? The 2014 Hib ACIP statement includes immunoglobulin deficiency in its “high-risk groups” for Hib disease, but the recommendations seem to imply that Hib vaccine is not necessarily for adults with immunoglobulin deficiency whose spleen is intact. Am I interpreting ACIP correctly on this matter?

You are interpreting the recommendations correctly, and age is an important factor in this issue. The recommendation for Hib vaccination for asplenia applies to people of all ages. Only children ages 12 through 59 months are subject to the recommendation for Hib vaccination for immunoglobulin deficiency or early component complement deficiency or use of a complement inhibitor (such as eculizumab [Soliris], or a related product).

Last reviewed: January 21, 2025

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This page was updated on January 21, 2025.