Vaccine advisers for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted on Friday morning to limit hepatitis B vaccines to most babies in a major move signaling the Trump administration’s regressive approach to vaccines that have been given safely and effectively for decades.
What is the situation now and what does this mean?
What just happened with hepatitis B vaccine policy?
The panel of official vaccine advisers for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended limiting the hepatitis B vaccine, normally given at birth, in an unprecedented decision.
Instead of giving all parents the option to vaccinate their newborns, the advisers now recommend that parents should have a conversation with a doctor to see if their newborn qualifies for vaccination.
Who is allowed to get the vaccine now?
Parents may request the shot for their baby after the birth and they must consult with a doctor to see if they should be vaccinated. After that, the vaccine shouldn’t be given until two months of age or later, the advisers now suggest.
Why is this so significant?
This is the first time the CDC advisers have limited access to a routine vaccination that has been offered for decades. A few months ago, they also voted to divide a vaccine combining measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and chickenpox (varicella), recommending instead that the two vaccines be given separately.
What does this mean for newborns and maternal healthcare?
It will be harder to access the shots – hospitals may not stock enough doses if they think parents won’t ask for it, and pediatricians may be wary of giving the shot before two months of age. The discussion and confusion around requirements may also lead parents and doctors to forego the shots entirely.
What is “shared clinical decision-making”, which will now govern most access?
It’s not a clear or common term. It essentially makes a vaccine optional instead of a standard part of official vaccine recommendations. It’s only been applied to five vaccines in the past – usually when vaccines don’t warrant full recommendation. When the recommendation for Covid vaccines switched to this framework, families and providers were confused and uncertain about the change. Insurers don’t always cover such shots.
Will health insurance still cover it?
Private insurance, like the kind you receive through an employer, will likely still pay for the shot. But it’s not clear if federal programs will cover the shot before the age of two months if parents aren’t able to get it at birth.
Why is the hepatitis B vaccine so important, and why is it normally when newborn?
Hepatitis B is most dangerous to children who are infected in the first year of life. If a baby gets sick before age one they have a 90% chance of developing a chronic infection, which may lead to severe long-term issues like cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death. Only about 5% of adults who get sick with hepatitis B develop a chronic infection. Since 1990, when the hepatitis B shot began to be offered to all newborns, rates of recorded cases of the illness in children dropped by 99%, from 20,000 to about 20 now because of inoculation.
Is there new information about the safety of the vaccine?
No, there isn’t. The vaccines are extremely safe and have been given to more than a billion people worldwide over three decades with no major safety issues. Presenters at the CDC meeting did not offer any additional data on safety concerns.
What do skeptics say is the danger of having the vaccine?
Skeptics, including presenters and some advisers at the CDC meeting, worry about a link between vaccines and chronic health conditions like allergies and eczema or neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism. Multiple studies have found no evidence for links between vaccines and these conditions.
What is the danger as vaccine after vaccine comes under attack?
These changes lead the way to upending decades of evidence on recommendations. By targeting a proven safe and effective vaccine, it sets a precedent for any vaccines to come under question and sows public doubt.
