What are the benefits of the Hib vaccine?

The Hib vaccine protects your child against a severe bacterial infection that mostly affects babies and children under 5 years old. The bacteria can cause epiglottitis (severe swelling in the throat that makes it hard to breathe), a serious form of pneumonia, and a disease called bacterial meningitis.

Meningitis is an infection of the membrane covering the brain and spinal cord. Hib meningitis causes death in 1 out of 20 children and permanent brain damage in 10 to 30 percent of those who survive. 

Hib, or Haemophilus influenzae type b, can also cause serious joint and skin infections as well as other less common infections.

Vaccine Scheduler


Before the Hib vaccine was approved for young children in the late 1980s, Hib was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in U.S. children under 5. About 20,000 children in the United States, most of them under 5 years old, contracted Hib meningitis each year.

Thanks to the vaccine, the incidence has dropped almost 99 percent and in 2009 there were only 35 confirmed cases of Hib in children under the age of 5. The cases that still occur are mostly in children who haven't gotten all their shots or are too young to have been immunized.

What's the recommended schedule?

Recommended number of doses

Three or four doses.

Recommended ages

  • At 2 months
  • At 4 months
  • At 6 months (not needed if the PedvaxHIB or Comvax brand of vaccine was given at 2 and 4 months)
  • Between 12 and 15 months

It's especially important for kids to get this vaccine on schedule because the diseases it protects against tend to strike children before the age of 2.

If your child doesn't get the vaccine on schedule, be sure to talk to your child's doctor about the catch-up schedule.

To track your child's immunizations, use BabyCenter's Immunization Scheduler.

Who shouldn't get the Hib vaccine?

  • Children younger than 6 weeks old
  • Any child who has had a serious allergic reaction to a previous dose

Are there any precautions I should take?

Children who are moderately to severely ill should probably wait until they recover before getting the Hib vaccine. That way, if they do have any side effects, they'll be better able to tolerate them.

What are the possible side effects?

Up to 30 percent of children have some redness, pain, or swelling at the site of the injection. Fever and irritability happen infrequently. These symptoms would show up within a day of vaccination and last two to three days.

