NEW YORK (AP) — A federal vaccine advisory committee voted Friday to end a longstanding recommendation that all U.S. babies get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they’re born.
For decades, the government has advised that all babies be vaccinated against the liver infection right after birth. The shots are widely considered to be a public health success for preventing thousands of illnesses.
However, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s committee voted to recommend the birth dose only for babies whose mothers test positive or whose infection status is unknown. For other babies, parents will now have the option to discuss the necessity of a birth dose with their doctors.
Parents who choose not to provide the birth dose are advised to start hepatitis B vaccinations no earlier than 2 months of age.
Some committee members contended that most babies are at low risk for infection and questioned the adequacy of previous studies that explored potential harms from the vaccine. As a result, many medical groups expressed alarm over the decision, suggesting that it could lead to an increase in infections among children.
The acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jim O’Neill, is expected to decide later whether to accept the committee’s new recommendation.
For decades, the government has advised that all babies be vaccinated against the liver infection right after birth. The shots are widely considered to be a public health success for preventing thousands of illnesses.
However, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s committee voted to recommend the birth dose only for babies whose mothers test positive or whose infection status is unknown. For other babies, parents will now have the option to discuss the necessity of a birth dose with their doctors.
Parents who choose not to provide the birth dose are advised to start hepatitis B vaccinations no earlier than 2 months of age.
Some committee members contended that most babies are at low risk for infection and questioned the adequacy of previous studies that explored potential harms from the vaccine. As a result, many medical groups expressed alarm over the decision, suggesting that it could lead to an increase in infections among children.
The acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jim O’Neill, is expected to decide later whether to accept the committee’s new recommendation.
