RFK Jr.-Led Vaccine Advisory Panel Ends Hep B Vaccine Recommendation for Newborns

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) during a meeting at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. (Credit: US Department of Health and Human Services)

KEY POINTS

• The CDC's vaccine advisory panel recently voted to end the recommendation for universal newborn hepatitis B vaccination.
• The new guidance suggests most babies delay the first dose until later infancy, reserving the birth dose only for infants whose mothers test positive for the virus.
• The controversial decision has sparked a national debate, with groups like the AMA criticizing the move as scientifically baseless and a danger to infant public health.

A panel of vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted on Friday to end a long-standing recommendation that encouraged giving newborns a hepatitis B vaccination at birth.