Hepatitis A vaccine

Some people should not get hepatitis A vaccine or should wait.

• Anyone who has ever had a severe (life-threatening) allergic reaction to a previous dose of hepatitis A vaccine should not get another dose.
• Anyone who has a severe (life-threatening) allergy to any vaccine component should not get the vaccine. Tell your doctor if you have any severe allergies, including a severe allergy to latex. All hepatitis A vaccines contain alum and some hepatitis A vaccines contain 2-phenoxyethanol.
• Anyone who is moderately or severely ill at the time the shot is scheduled should probably wait until they recover. Ask your doctor. People with a mild illness can usually get the vaccine.
• Tell your doctor if you are pregnant. Because hepatitis A vaccine is inactivated (killed), the risk to a pregnant woman or her unborn baby is believed to be very low. But your doctor can weigh any theoretical risk from the vaccine against the need for protection.