Asplenia Vaccine Record

This information will help you keep track of the vaccines you’ll need if your spleen is removed or weakened.

You’re getting this resource because you:

• Have had, or will have, all or part of your spleen removed. This is called a splenectomy (spleh-NEK-toh-mee).
• Had radiation treatment that weakened your spleen so it can’t fight infection as well as normal. This is called functional asplenia.

Your spleen is an important part of your body’s immune system. Without a spleen or with a weakened spleen, you have a higher chance of getting a bacterial infection. You can help prevent these infections by getting recommended vaccines.

Vaccines and surgery

• If you know you’re having surgery, get your vaccines at least 14 days before your surgery.
• If you had unplanned surgery, you must wait at least 14 days after your surgery to start getting your vaccines.

Types of vaccines

You will need several vaccines. Your healthcare provider will tell you which vaccines you should get. All of the vaccines are given as shots in your muscle.

• Haemophilus B (Hib) Conjugate. This vaccine helps prevent Hib disease. Hib disease is an illness that can cause meningitis (swelling in your brain and spinal cord), pneumonia (inflammation that leads to fluid collecting in your lungs), and other serious illnesses. These illnesses can cause disability or death.
• Pneumococcal. This vaccine helps prevent infection by pneumococcal bacteria. Pneumococcal bacteria can cause pneumonia, meningitis, and other serious illnesses that can cause death.
• Meningococcal. This vaccine helps prevent meningitis. For broader protection, there are 3 meningococcal vaccines available: Penmenvy®, Menveo®, and Bexsero®.
  • Penmenvy is best if you’re starting meningococcal vaccination. Alone, it protects against all the meningococcal types that Menveo and Bexsero protect against together.
  • If you have not started meningococcal vaccination, you should get 2 doses of Penmenvy, 6 months apart. If you’re still at risk for infection after this, you will get Menveo and Bexsero as boosters.
  • If you already started meningococcal vaccination with Menveo and Bexsero, you should finish getting those.
    • Menveo is given as 2 doses, 12 weeks apart. Boosters are given every 5 years.
    • Bexsero is given as 2 doses, 6 months apart. If you got a second dose earlier than 6 months, you should get a third dose at least 4 months after the second dose. A booster is given 1 year later, then every 2 to3 years as needed.
• Inactivated influenza. This vaccine helps prevent the flu.
  • You should get the flu vaccine every year. It usually becomes available in the early fall.
  • You can get the flu vaccine with any of the other rounds of vaccines.

Vaccine record

You can’t get all these vaccines at once. Because of that, they’re split into rounds. Your healthcare provider will help decide what vaccines you’ll get and when you’ll get them. Tell your healthcare provider if you’ve already had any of these vaccines.

Bring this record when you see your primary care provider so your vaccines stay up to date.

Most people can get their first round of vaccines at MSK. After that, you can get the rest of your vaccines at your primary care provider’s office. If your primary care provider has any questions, they can call your healthcare provider at MSK.