Hepatitis B Vaccination Low Among HIV-Positive Patients

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Patients with HIV are at an increased risk of numerous comorbidities and infections, including hepatitis B virus (HBV). Due to the opioid epidemic, injection drug users have a significantly increased risk of contracting HBV and hepatitis C virus, especially those coinfected with HIV.

Recently, the American College of Physicians and CDC released new best practice guidelines to address HBV. The guidelines stress that all adults, including at-risk pregnant women, should be vaccinated against HBV. Vaccination is crucially important for patients with liver disease, end-stage renal disease, or HIV, according to the guidelines.

A new study published by the Annals of Internal Medicine showed that the HBV vaccination rate among HIV-positive patients is particularly low, highlighting the importance of the new guidelines.