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Federal vaccine advisers handpicked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted vaccine skeptic, voted Friday to recommend halting long-standing guidance that all newborns in the U.S. get vaccinated for hepatitis B, in what is the latest attack on childhood immunizations by the Trump administration.
Since 1991, federal health recommendations have suggested that every infant receive their first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine in their first day of life, the second dose at one to two months, and the third between six and 15 months. Public health and medical experts say the first shot has been found to prevent liver infections and liver cancer in newborns.
But the new language approved by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends giving that first dose only to infants who were born to infected mothers, and delaying it for all other newborns.
Medical experts, including former CDC vaccine chief Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, sharply condemned the panel’s reversal.
“The vote on using serology to decide dose schedule for hep B is based on no data at all,” Daskalakis remarked on social media. “Science defeated yet again by the zombi ACIP. Oust this committee. Congress need to act now.”
Hepatitis B is a devastating liver infection that can turn into a lifelong disease like cancer, liver failure and cirrhosis — especially for babies and children. Studies show that about 90% of infants who are infected at birth will go on to experience chronic infections, a quarter of whom will die of chronic liver disease.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.), a medical doctor who cast a key vote to confirm RFK Jr. as head of the HHS, was similarly despondent and called for the CDC not to sign the new recommendation.
“The hepatitis B vaccine is safe and effective. The birth dose is a recommendation, NOT a mandate,” he noted. “Ending the recommendation for newborns makes it more likely the number of cases will begin to increase again. This makes America sicker.”
“Acting CDC Director O’Neill should not sign these new recommendations and instead retain the current, evidence-based approach,” he added.
ACIP is made up of 11 members, including vaccine skeptics whom Kennedy chose after firing everyone on the panel this summer. The committee, which recommends vaccine guidance for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, originally planned to vote on the hepatitis B shot in September, but delayed the decision after some members requested more data on risks associated with it.
It’s important to note the vaccine has been studied for decades, with evidence proving its efficacy and safety. A model by the Center for Disease Analysis Foundation found that delaying the first dose at birth would result in 99,000 preventable hepatitis B infections. There is no cure for the infection.
Even if ACIP’s vote is just a recommendation, public health officials warn that the biggest consequence will be newfound fear and confusion for parents wondering whether they should get their newborn vaccinated. The American Academy of Pediatrics has maintained it will continue recommending the original hepatitis B vaccine guidance regardless of ACIP’s vote.
Ryan Grenoble contributed reporting.