The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention On Tuesday, a long-standing recommendation that all newborns in the U.S. receive the hepatitis B vaccine came to an end.
Instead, it is left up to parents, in consultation with a health care provider, to decide whether babies born to hepatitis B-negative mothers should receive the vaccine, including the birth dose.
The agency’s move follows a recommendation from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine advisory panel that marks a major change in health care policy.
Earlier this month, the panel recommended that a birth dose be given only to newborns whose mothers test positive for hepatitis B or whose status is unknown, which the CDC approved as policy on Tuesday.
If parents choose not to vaccinate their newborn at birth but feel vaccination is warranted, the agency now recommends that they wait at least two months before giving the child a first dose of the vaccine.
Since 1991, U.S. health officials have recommended universal vaccination of infants against hepatitis B, with the first of three vaccinations administered very soon after birth.
Experts warn that the new recommendation, which the CDC described as individualized decision-making, could expose more children to the harmful virus and lead more families to forego vaccination in the absence of a strong federal policy.
“This recommendation ignores the science. The fact that the CDC’s acting director would endorse this only continues to reinforce that they are no longer committed to science-based recommendations for improving health,” Landon said.
Hepatitis B can lead to serious liver disease and is spread mainly through blood, semen, or certain other bodily fluids, and can also be spread through close contact with people who do not know they are infected, such as caregivers or friends.
