Overview
- The CDC vaccine advisory committee approved the change 8–3 after two days of contentious deliberations.
- For infants whose mothers test negative for Hepatitis B, the first dose could be deferred until at least two months following a discussion with a clinician.
- Newborns of mothers who test positive would still receive the birth dose, maintaining protections against perinatal transmission.
- The recommendation will not take effect unless adopted by the CDC director, and some reports say approval is likely under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics criticized the shift as misleading and warned it could raise infections among infants and children during a period of growing vaccine skepticism and recent large measles outbreaks.