Coadministration of Hepatitis A and Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine: Cautionary Findings

Coadministration of vaccines is well established and commonly practiced before travel. Some vaccines even appear to induce greater responses if administered together rather than separately (e.g., hepatitis A and B vaccines). But is this true for all vaccine combinations? Scandinavian researchers assessed antibody titers in 305 adult attendees to a travel clinic who were randomized 1:1:1 to receive 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) simultaneously with hepatitis A vaccine (HepA), PCV13 alone, or HepA alone.

Postimmunization antipneumococcal IgG antibody concentrations and opsonophagocytic activity against the 13 pneumococcal antigens were comparable after administration of PCV13 alone or in combination with HepA (except for a mo…