Healthcare providers should refer to the catch-up schedule which is approved and published each year by the ACIP, AAP, and AAFP (available at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-schedules/child-adolescent-catch-up.html). The catch-up schedule will help determine the number of additional doses needed and the minimum intervals between doses. However, if a healthy child receives a dose of Hib vaccine at age 15 months or older, he or she does not need any further doses regardless of the number of doses received before age 15 months. Some high-risk children between the age of 15 months and 59 months will be recommended for two doses of Hib vaccine based on previous history of incomplete vaccination.
Last reviewed:
July 31, 2022
No. If a healthy child receives a dose of Hib vaccine at 15 months of age or older, he or she does not need any further doses regardless of the number of doses received before 15 months of age.
Last reviewed:
July 31, 2022
If the child received a primary series (2 or 3 doses) of Hib vaccine in the first year of life, then the final (booster) dose of the series may be given as early as 12 months, provided at least 2 months have passed since the last dose. An unvaccinated 12–14-month-old child should receive one dose as a primary series, and a booster dose 2 months later. Unvaccinated healthy children 15–59 months of age need only a single dose of any licensed conjugate Hib vaccine. Some high-risk children 15–59 months of age are recommended for two doses of Hib vaccine based on previous history of incomplete vaccination.
Last reviewed:
July 31, 2022
Yes. All children less than 5 years old need at least one dose of Hib vaccine on or after the first birthday. The last dose should be separated from the previous dose by at least 8 weeks.
Last reviewed:
July 31, 2022
Use of DTaP-IPV solution as the diluent for the Hib component is specifically written both on the Pentacel box AND on the DTaP-IPV vial label. The DTaP-IPV component will count as valid doses of DTaP and IPV vaccines, but take measures to prevent this error in the future. You cannot mix the Hib component with sterile water. ActHib must ONLY be reconstituted with either the DTaP-IPV solution supplied with Pentacel, or with a specific ActHib saline diluent. If you have a vial of lyophilized ActHib but neither diluent, you must contact the manufacturer (Sanofi) and obtain ActHib diluent.
Last reviewed:
July 15, 2023
ACIP does not recommend routine Hib vaccination of healthy children 60 months of age or older, even if they have no prior history of Hib vaccination.
Last reviewed:
February 5, 2024
Limited data suggest that Hib vaccine given before 6 weeks of age may induce immunologic tolerance to Hib antigen and reduce the response to subsequent doses. As a result, Hib vaccine should not be given earlier than 6 weeks of age. However, if a dose was administered before 6 weeks of age, it should not be counted as part of the Hib series. A full series of 3 or 4 doses, depending on the product used, should be started at 2 months of age as usual. No special protocol or testing is recommended for children who received a dose of Hib vaccine before 6 weeks of age.
Last reviewed:
July 31, 2022
Hib vaccine is not routinely recommended for healthy adults 19 years and older, even if the person did not receive Hib vaccine as a child. However, ACIP recommends that one dose of Hib vaccine should be administered to persons who have anatomical or functional asplenia or sickle cell disease or are undergoing elective splenectomy if they have not previously received Hib vaccine. Hib vaccine should be administered 14 or more days before splenectomy if possible. Recipients of a hematopoietic stem cell transplant should be vaccinated with a 3-dose series of Hib vaccine 6 to 12 months after a successful transplant, regardless of vaccination history; at least 4 weeks should separate doses. Hib vaccine is not recommended for adults with HIV infection since their risk for Hib disease is low.
Last reviewed:
July 31, 2022
When elective splenectomy is planned, vaccination with pneumococcal, meningococcal, and Hib vaccines should precede surgery by at least 2 weeks, if possible. If vaccines are not administered before surgery, they should be administered as soon as the person’s condition stabilizes after surgery.
Last reviewed:
July 31, 2022
Since the patient is asplenic, the second dose of the primary series of MenACWY should be given at least 8 weeks after the first dose. He will need a dose of MenACWY every 5 years for the rest of his life. The series of MenB (whether Trumenba or Bexsero) should be completed. The first booster dose of MenB will be due one year after completion of the primary series and subsequent booster doses are recommended every 2–3 years for the rest of his life. The same MenB vaccine should be used for all doses in the series, including booster doses. People who receive Trumenba brand MenB vaccine have an option to receive MenABCWY (Penbraya, Pfizer) when both MenACWY and MenB vaccines are due at the same visit, as long as doses of Penbraya are spread out by at least 6 months. The patient has already received the one dose of PCV15 recommended for adults, so no further doses are needed. He also has properly received his first dose of PPSV at least 8 weeks after the dose of PCV15. No additional doses of pneumococcal vaccination are recommended at this time. Based on the patient’s age, only one dose of Hib vaccine is recommended, so no further doses are needed. The patient should receive influenza vaccine annually.
Any of these vaccines can be given at the same appointment, except for PCV15 and PPSV23.
Last reviewed:
April 10, 2024
You are interpreting the recommendations correctly, and age is an important factor in this issue. The recommendation for Hib vaccination for asplenia applies to persons of all ages. The recommendation for Hib vaccination for immunoglobulin deficiency applies only to children 12 through 59 months of age.
Last reviewed:
July 31, 2022
Yes. If different brands of Hib vaccine are given at 2 and 4 months of age then the child should receive a third primary dose of either vaccine at 6 months of age. A 2-dose primary schedule (that is, doses at age 2 and 4 months) is only appropriate when both doses are PedvaxHIB.
Last reviewed:
July 31, 2022
Hib invasive disease does not always result in development of protective antibody levels. Children younger than 24 months of age who develop invasive Hib disease should be considered susceptible and should receive Hib vaccine. Vaccination of these children should start as soon as possible during the convalescent phase of the illness. A complete series as recommended for the child’s age should be administered.
Last reviewed:
July 31, 2022
Hib meningitis incidence historically peaked at a younger age (4–6 months) among AI/AN infants than among other U.S. infant populations (6–7 months). Vaccination with a primary series of PedvaxHib (PRP-OMP, Merck) is preferred for AI/AN infants because this vaccine can produce a protective antibody response after the first dose.
At the current time, it is unknown whether Vaxelis (DTaP-IPV-Hib-HepB), which contains a smaller quantity of PRP-OMP than PedvaxHib, produces a similar protective antibody response after the first dose. Therefore, Vaxelis is not preferred for AI/AN infants at this time.
Last reviewed:
July 31, 2022
All Hib-containing vaccines should be administered by the intramuscular route.
Last reviewed:
July 31, 2022
The third dose of Vaxelis vaccine administered at age 5 months (less than 24 weeks of age) is not considered a valid dose of the HepB component, because the last dose of HepB vaccine should be given at 24 weeks of age or older. The child will need an additional dose of HepB vaccine at age 24 weeks or older, and at least 4 weeks after the inadvertent dose of Vaxelis. The DTaP and IPV components of the Vaxelis dose erroneously administered at age 5 months are considered valid doses and do not need to be repeated, as long as there was a minimum 4-week interval between the second and third doses of either component.
Last reviewed:
July 31, 2022
