Overview
- The reconstituted advisory panel voted 8–3 to replace automatic neonatal hepatitis B vaccination for babies of HBsAg‑negative mothers with individualized decisions made with a health professional.
- When families defer the birth dose, the guidance suggests beginning the series no earlier than two months of age.
- In a separate 6–4 vote, the committee recommended that parents consider post‑vaccination antibody testing, a nonstandard practice that pediatric experts questioned as unreliable.
- The current ACIP was appointed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after dismissing the previous members, and observers noted procedural changes that curtailed direct CDC scientific presentations.
- Public‑health experts and some panelists warned the shift could raise future infections given the birth dose’s role in reducing pediatric hepatitis B, and CDC interim chief Jim O’Neill must decide whether to implement the recommendation.