When did Hepatitis B Vaccine become Available?
The first Hepatitis B (HepB) vaccine, known as ‘the plasma-derived Hepatitis B vaccine,’ became commercially available in 1982. It consisted of HBsAg purified from the plasma of persons with chronic HBV infection.
This vaccine (the first Hepatitis B vaccine) has now been replaced by genetically engineered (or DNA Recombinant) Hepatitis B vaccines that are free of any concerns associated with human blood products and are synthetically prepared.
Hepatitis B vaccines produced by recombinant DNA technology have been available since 1986. So, plasma-derived HepB vaccines are no longer used.
References / Additional Readings
- https://www.who.int/teams/health-product-policy-and-standards/standards-and-specifications/vaccine-standardization/hep-b
- https://www.immunize.org/wp-content/uploads/catg.d/p4205.pdf
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis_B_vaccine
- https://www.hepb.org/prevention-and-diagnosis/vaccination/history-of-hepatitis-b-vaccine/
- https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/hepb.html