The hepatitis A vaccine is provided free of charge to people at high risk of hepatitis A infection, including:
- Those who have hemophilia or receive repeated infusions of blood or blood products
- Those who inject drugs or share drug snorting, smoking, or injecting equipment
- Males who have sex with other males
- Those with HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C infection, or chronic liver disease
- Those who have had a bone marrow or stem cell transplant
- Those who will have or have had a liver transplant
- Inmates of a provincial correctional facility
- Close contacts of a person with hepatitis A infection. These include people living in the same house, close friends, children in the same daycare, people who share drugs and sexual partners
- Those who have eaten food prepared by a food handler with hepatitis A infection.
The vaccine is also recommended, but not free of charge, for people likely to come in contact with or spread the hepatitis A virus.
For more information about the vaccine, who should get it, the benefits and possible reactions, visit the hepatitis A vaccine HealthLink BC file.