The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has adopted controversial guidance from its advisory panel, ending a decades-long policy that recommended the Hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns.
On Dec. 26, Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill approved the shift after the agency’s vaccine advisory committee—all members who were appointed this year by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., following the dismissal of the prior panel—voted in favor of the change earlier this month, NBC News reports. With the decision finalized, the CDC now advises women who test negative for hepatitis B to consult their healthcare providers about whether their newborns should receive the first dose of the vaccine within 24 hours of birth.
“We are restoring the balance of informed consent to parents whose newborns face little risk of contracting hepatitis B,” O’Neill said in a statement.
The decision overturns more than 30 years of CDC guidance, as the agency has recommended the hepatitis B birth dose since 1991. The agency is still reviewing a related proposal advising parents to consult healthcare providers about testing children for hepatitis B antibodies before proceeding with later doses of the vaccine, which is typically administered as a three-shot series.
Under
the updated guidance, the CDC now advises delaying a baby’s first hepatitis B shot until at least two months of age if the birth dose is skipped, while still recommending immediate vaccination within 24 hours for infants born to mothers who test positive for hepatitis B or whose status is unknown.Experts warn the CDC’s shift to what it calls individual-based decision-making could leave more children vulnerable to hepatitis B and encourage families to skip vaccination without a clear federal standard. Critics also note that CDC guidance influences insurance coverage and helps doctors determine appropriate care.
Public health
specialists say delaying the vaccine could fuel a rise in hepatitis B infections and, over time, increase cases of liver disease and cancer, despite broader changes to U.S. vaccination policy under RFK Jr, a noted anti-vaccine activist.“This recommendation is ignoring the science,” said Dr. Emily Landon, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Chicago Medicine. “The fact that the acting director of the CDC would sign on to this just continues to reinforce that they are no longer committed to science-based recommendations for improving health.”
Hepatitis B infections in the U.S. have dropped by nearly 90%, falling
from 9.6 cases per 100,000 people before widespread vaccination to about one per 100,000 in 2018. Meanwhile, officials are conducting an additional review of the panel’s secondary recommendation that parents consult healthcare providers about antibody testing to decide whether later doses of the hepatitis B vaccine are necessary.RELATED CONTENT: WTH? Supreme Court Grants Presidential Immunity To Convicted Felon Donald Trump In Landmark Ruling