Double dose fix for Hep B vax shortage
30th June 2017
By Rada Rouse
A worsening private market shortage of adult hepatitis B vaccine has led health authorities to endorse the use of a double dose of paediatric formulation.
The unprecedented workaround comes after GPs lobbied public health units on behalf of medical students and healthcare workers who require hepatitis B vaccination to take up placements.
“Some GPs raised this issue and that’s why we’ve provided the information to allow [students] to be vaccinated,” said Dr Vicky Sheppeard, director of NSW Health’s communicable disease branch.