Overview
- New CDC guidance allows parents of babies with Hepatitis‑B‑negative mothers to decide on the birth dose in consultation with a physician, while infants of infected mothers still receive routine vaccination at birth.
- The U.S. immunization advisory commission adopted the change in an 8–3 vote, narrowing the automatic birth‑dose recommendation.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics and infectious‑disease specialists warn the policy will increase infant infections and fuel vaccine hesitancy.
- Universal infant vaccination, in place since 1991, coincided with an almost 90% drop in U.S. Hepatitis B infections.
- CDC recommendations heavily influence clinical practice and insurance coverage, and the move comes after the worst U.S. measles outbreak in over 30 years with more than 1,400 cases this year.