Hepatitis B Vaccination Through Syringe Exchange Programs: A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Vaccination Schedules

Summary

The investigators seek to provide immunization for individuals who are at high risk of contracting hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection because of their illicit drug use. The investigators will be using the syringe exchange programs (SEPs) in Hartford and Bridgeport, CT and Chicago, IL to contact high risk individuals and refer them for vaccination. The primary purpose of the study is to compare the standard schedule of hepatitis B vaccination at 0, 1, and 6 months to an accelerated schedule of vaccination at 0, 1, and 2 months. The investigators hypothesize that the accelerated scheduling will result in improved completion rates without significant loss in vaccine efficacy.

Timeline

Start

2003-05

Primary completion

2006-08

Completion

2006-08

Publications

• Results Hu Y, Grau LE, Scott G, Seal KH, Marshall PA, Singer M, Heimer R. Economic evaluation of delivering hepatitis B vaccine to injection drug users. Am J Prev Med. 2008 Jul;35(1):25-32. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.03.028.

Drugs

Indications