CDC ends guidance that all newborns should get hepatitis B vaccine, in major policy shift
KSL.com • • health
Key Points:
- The CDC has ended its universal recommendation for newborn hepatitis B vaccination, now advising that parents, in consultation with healthcare providers, decide if infants born to hepatitis B-negative mothers should receive the vaccine at birth.
- This policy change follows a recommendation from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine advisory panel, limiting the birth dose to newborns whose mothers test positive or have unknown hepatitis B status.
- The CDC advises waiting at least two months for vaccination if parents initially decline the birth dose but later choose to vaccinate.
- Experts warn that this shift could increase children's exposure to hepatitis B and lead to higher rates of vaccine refusal, criticizing the move as ignoring scientific evidence.
- Hepatitis B infections have significantly declined in the U
