What is this medication for?
Hepatitis B vaccine prevents infection by hepatitis B by
allowing your body to produce its own protection (antibodies) against
the disease. Hepatitis B virus is a major cause of serious liver diseases
such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Hepatitis B vaccine is
recommended for persons of all ages (including newborns), especially those at
increased risk of infection with hepatitis B virus, for example:
- adolescents
- blood
bank workers
- health
care personnel
- infants,
including those born to mothers with hepatitis B
- military
personnel
- morticians
and embalmers
- people
who have chronic hepatitis C
- people
from certain areas at high risk of hepatitis B infection (e.g., Alaskan
Eskimos, Pacific Islanders, Indochinese immigrants, Haitian immigrants)
- people
and their contacts in certain hospital clinics (e.g., dialysis, cancer,
blood transfusion patients) or institutions for people who are mentally
handicapped
- people
requiring frequent or large-volume blood transfusions or other blood
products
- people
traveling to high-risk areas
- people
who engage in high-risk sexual activity
- prisoners
- users
of illicit injectable drugs
Your doctor may have suggested this medication for conditions other than those listed here. As well, some forms of this medication may not be used for all of the conditions discussed here. If you have not discussed this with your doctor or are not sure why you are taking this medication, speak to your doctor. Do not give this medication to anyone else, even if they have the same symptoms as you do. It can be harmful for people to take this medication if their doctor has not prescribed it. Do not stop taking this medication without consulting your doctor.
What form(s) does this medication come in?
Recombivax HB® is available as:
- vials
- 5 µg per 0.5 mL
- 10 µg per 1.0 mL
- 40 µg per 1.0 mL (for dialysis patients only)
- syringes
- 5 µg per 0.5 mL
- 10 µg per 1.0 mL
Some medications may have other generic brands available. Always ask your doctor or pharmacist about the safety of switching between brands of the same medication.
How should I use this medication?
A qualified health professional will inject the hepatitis B
vaccine. The dose varies according to age and dosing schedule. The dose
of hepatitis B vaccine is injected into a muscle (preferably the upper, outer
arm for adults and the thigh for infants and young children) with 3 doses that
are at least one month apart. Injection at 0, 1, and 6 months is a common
dosing schedule. A 2-dose regimen is available for adolescents (11 to 15 years
of age) where the second dose is given 4 to 6 months after the first. For
people who are at risk of bleeding after an injection into the muscle (e.g.,
people with hemophilia), hepatitis B vaccine may be injected under the skin.
The vaccine must be shaken before use.
Store this vaccine in the refrigerator and keep it out of
the reach of children. The vaccine must not freeze or it will have to be
discarded.
Many things can affect the dose of medication
that a person needs, such as body weight, other medical conditions, and other medications.
Other dosing schedules are sometimes used.
It is very important to keep doctor appointments so that
this medication may be used according to recommended schedules. If you miss a
scheduled dose, it may affect how well this vaccine works.
Who should NOT take this medication?
Hepatitis B vaccine should not be used by anyone who:
- is
allergic to hepatitis B-containing vaccine or any ingredient of this vaccine
- is
allergic to yeast