BACKGROUND:
Florida’s Hepatitis Program provides hepatitis awareness, education, intervention programs, surveillance, and research.

OBJECTIVE:
Protect Florida’s adults by providing hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccine.

METHOD:
The Florida Hepatitis Program makes available, at no cost to counties, hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccines for adults at increased risk for hepatitis or its adverse consequences. Adult hepatitis vaccine administration is integrated into other public health programs, including immunization, STD, family health, WIC, HIV/AIDS, epidemiology, jail services, TB, and refugee health.

RESULT:
As of 01/01/2004, 58 unfunded counties (not receiving hepatitis funding for personnel or supplies) participate in the adult hepatitis immunization program, having used and coded 13,213 doses of hepatitis A vaccine and 29,523 doses of hepatitis B vaccine. For hepatitis A vaccine, there were 10,950 first doses and 2,263 second doses, a 21% series completion rate. For hepatitis B vaccine, there were 17,080 first doses, 8,273 (48%) second doses, and 4,170 (50% of those receiving dose 2) third doses, a 24% series completion rate.
As of 1/1/2004 in the nine funded Florida counties, there were 20,230 doses of hepatitis A vaccine used and coded, 17,234 first doses and 2,996 second doses, a series completion rate of 17%. Of 34,203 doses of hepatitis B vaccine used and coded, there were 18,358 first doses, 10,057 second doses (55%), and 5,788 third doses (58% of those receiving dose 2), a series completion rate of 32%.

CONCLUSION:
Public health providers, with community partners, are willing and able to provide adult hepatitis immunization services, even with no resources other than the vaccine. Vaccine availability, with the counties’ freedom to integrate hepatitis vaccination services into other programmatic areas, is the key to maximizing limited hepatitis resources.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Participants will describe Florida’s Adult Hepatitis Immunization Program and assess the program strengths and weaknesses.