Retrospective cohort study of hepatitis B immunization strategy effects in Beijing across 30 years

Whether a booster dose of hepatitis B vaccine is necessary for adolescents remains controversial. We conducted a retrospective cohort study from the Immunization Information System and The National Notifiable Disease Reporting System to evaluate the impact of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination programs (universal infant hepatitis B immunization and adolescent booster) on HBV infection. The vaccine effectiveness (VE) of hepatitis B vaccine is 64.43% (95% CI 57.78% − 71.08%) within 10 years of birth, escalates to 95.36% (95% CI 94.84% − 95.88%) by 20 years, and decreases to 67.35% (95% CI 63.86% − 70.85%) by 30 years. Compared with Beijing’s birth-vaccinated-only group, the booster group showed a lower relative VE in the first 10 years but a slight increase thereafter. Compared with the national control group, the booster group maintained a relatively high relative VE with a smaller decline magnitude. This study demonstrates that adolescent HBV booster vaccination administered during junior high school improves hepatitis B surface antibody levels and contributes to a further reduction in the incidence of HBV infection. Authors explore the hepatitis B vaccine program in China and found Beijing’s 30-year universal infant immunizations reduced incidence. Adolescent boosters may also have elevated antibody titers, contributing to a further decline in incidence rates.