In brief
A recent vote by a federal vaccine advisory committee now recommends the hepatitis B vaccine at birth only for infants born to mothers with known infections or unknown statuses. Parents and doctors will decide for other infants. The CDC's acting director will determine if this recommendation will be adopted, amid concerns it may lead to increased infections.
NEW YORK (AP) — In a significant shift in public health policy, a federal vaccine advisory committee has voted to change the longstanding recommendation that all U.S. infants receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. The committee, chaired by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now suggests that the birth dose should only be administered to babies whose mothers test positive for hepatitis B or whose infection status is unknown. For other newborns, the decision regarding vaccination will be left to the parents and their healthcare providers. Historically, the hepatitis B vaccination has been viewed as a public health success, helping to prevent thousands of hepatitis B infections. However, some committee members have raised concerns over the necessity of universal vaccination, citing that many babies are at low risk for the infection. They argue that earlier studies examining potential vaccine harms were too small to yield conclusive long-term results. This shift in recommendations comes as many medical organizations express concern that this change could lead to an increase in hepatitis B infections among children. The acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jim O’Neill, will be the final authority on whether to accept these new recommendations.
