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More than one-third of US patients with HIV do not receive HBV vaccination

In the United States, more than one-third of patients with HIV did not initiate vaccination for hepatitis B virus despite their higher risk for infection, according to data published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

“Persons with HIV infection are at increased risk for hepatitis B virus infection,” John Weiser, MD, MPH, from the CDC, and colleagues wrote. “In 2016, the World Health Organization resolved to eliminate hepatitis B as a public health threat by 2030.”

Weiser and colleagues conducted a nationally representative cross-sectional survey to determine how often patients with HIV in the United States are receiving vaccination for HBV. The researchers enrolled 18,089 patients receiving medical care for HIV from the 2009 to 2012 Medical Monitoring Project. Investigators defined vaccinated patients as those having documentation of at least one HBV vaccine dose during a 1-year surveillance period in which they received ongoing medical care for HIV.

Weiser and colleagues found that among HIV patients in the United States, 44.2% were candidates to initiate HBV vaccination at the start of the surveillance period. Among these candidates, only 9.6% received vaccination for HBV, 7.5% did not receive vaccination but had new documented infection or immunity and 82.9% did not receive vaccination and had no new documented infection or immunity by the end of surveillance.

During surveillance, 12.5% of patients at facilities funded by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program received vaccination for HBV vs. 3.7% of those at facilities not funded by the program.

Overall, 36.7% of patients with HIV remained candidates for HBV vaccination at the end of the surveillance period.

“More than one-third of U.S. HIV patients have not been vaccinated for hepatitis B,” Weiser and colleagues concluded. “Only 1 in 10 of these vaccination candidates was vaccinated in the course of 1 year of ongoing HIV care. Meeting goals for hepatitis B elimination will require a multifaceted approach to increasing vaccination of HIV patients. Particular attention should be focused on increasing vaccination of patients who receive care in private practices or at facilities that are not funded by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.” – by Alaina Tedesco

Disclosure: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.