Hepatitis A Unintentionally Served at Starbucks

In light of the case of hepatitis A in an employee at a Starbucks located in Gloucester Township, the Camden County Health Department in New Jersey confirmed on November 22, 2021, it is offering vaccines to anyone who feels they may have been exposed.

Based on the investigation and out of an abundance of caution, the Department of Health recommends any unvaccinated member of the public that patronized Starbucks at 1490 Blackwood Clementon Road on Nov. 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, or 13 to get the hepatitis A vaccine. 

The Camden County Health Hub is located at 200 College Drive in Blackwood and will operate today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vaccine appointments will be made on a first-come, first-serve basis.

One dose of single-antigen hepatitis A vaccine has been shown to control outbreaks of hepatitis A, says the U.S. CDC.

However, if you have been vaccinated for hepatitis A in the past, you do not need to receive another dose. 

And if you have a child born after the year 2000, that child has likely already been vaccinated for hepatitis A and does not require another dose.

Last week, the hepatitis A vaccine clinics administered about 800 vaccinations to people in Camden County, NJ.

Previously, the Camden County Health Department was notified by a health care provider on Nov. 17, 2021, that a food handler employed at a Starbucks in Gloucester Township tested positive for hepatitis A and worked through the infectious period.

Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease usually spread when a person ingests fecal matter, even in microscopic amounts, from contact with objects, food, or drinks contaminated by the feces of an infected person.

Hepatitis A symptoms can surface two to four weeks after exposure, although they can, in some instances, occur up to seven weeks after exposure. Children under six years of age with hepatitis A often do not show signs or symptoms.

For more information on hepatitis A and vaccine availability, patrons of Starbucks can contact the Camden County Health Department at (856) 549-0530 or their primary care physician.

Since 2016, CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis (DVH) has assisted multiple state and local health departments with hepatitis A outbreaks, spread through person-to-person contact.

Since the outbreaks began, 37 states have publicly reported the following data as of November 19, 2021

• Cases: 42,936
• Hospitalizations: 26,153 (61%)
• Deaths: 402

The CDC has updated its overall recommendations on preventing hepatitis A virus infection in the United States.

A listing of FDA-authorized hepatitis A vaccines is located on this webpage.

PrecisionVaccinations publishes fact-check, research-based vaccine news.