US EditionCDC vaccine committee overturns decades-old hepatitis B recommendation for newborns
ACIP replaced the universal birth dose with selective guidance for infants of infected or unknown-status mothers and encouraged individual decision-making, citing concerns despite no new safety risks.
- On Friday, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to end the routine hepatitis B vaccine birth dose, narrowing it to infants born to mothers who test positive or unknown, and shifting decision-making for mothers who test negative.
- HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaced ACIP members this year, installing allies, skeptics, and anti‑vaccine presenters who prioritized individual choice over routine recommendations.
- Independent reviews found the birth dose safe and effective, with the Vaccine Integrity Project citing over 400 studies and up to 90% effectiveness; the committee had no new safety data prompting the change.
- Wisconsin's health department reiterated its Dec. 11, 2025 recommendation for newborn hepatitis B vaccination, citing "extensive evidence," while federal reviews signal broader childhood vaccine schedule changes.
- More than 20 states now consult other advisory groups, and a prior U.S. targeted approach later led to large hepatitis B case increases, raising risks amid potential wider childhood vaccine schedule changes.
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12 Articles
EDITORIAL: Hep B vaccine shift is step backwards
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Wisconsin DHS to continue recommending Hepatitis B vaccine amid CDC reversal
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Health Services have released a stated that they will continue to recommend the Hepatitis B vaccine for children within the first 24 hours of being born. The statement coming in direct response to the CDC’s reversal of their own recommendation of the vaccine. The Wisconsin DHS says there is “no new evidence” to support the reversal. The previous recommendation from the CDC had been the same for 3 decad…
Journal Sentinel
USA TodayWisconsin health officials still recommend babies get hepatitis B shot
The CDC's vaccine advisory committee voted Dec. 5 to stop recommending all newborns get the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, a departure from a 30-year recommendation.
CDC vaccine committee overturns decades-old hepatitis B recommendation for newborns
ATLANTA — A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee voted to eliminate a recommendation that all newborn babies receive a vaccine against hepatitis B, ending a policy that has been in place since 1991 to protect Americans against an…
The CDC, RFK Jr., And Childhood Vaccine Schedules : 1A
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel voted to end a recommendation that all newborns be immunized at birth against hepatitis B. That guidance had been in place for more than 30 years. Hepatitis B is a highly infectious virus that can cause severe liver damage, including cirrhosis and cancer.The members of this panel, known as ACIP, were handpicked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kenne…
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