Overview
- The CDC’s reconstituted ACIP is meeting Thursday and Friday to consider dropping or delaying the long‑standing recommendation to give all infants a hepatitis B dose within 24 hours of birth, with no specific alternative timing yet defined.
- An independent review of more than 400 studies from the Vaccine Integrity Project found the birth dose is safe, cut pediatric infections by over 95%, and prevented millions of infections and hospitalizations.
- A not‑yet‑peer‑reviewed modeling analysis estimates that pushing the first dose to two months could result in at least 1,400 pediatric infections and 480 deaths.
- Vaccine makers and supply experts caution that shifting the schedule could upend inventories, especially for combination vaccines, with industry sources saying the panel has not sought detailed input on supply impacts.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics and infectious‑disease experts say there is no evidence to justify a delay, disputing the ACIP chair’s claim about neonatal fever, while noting any change could influence Vaccines for Children coverage and hospital practices even if some facilities keep the birth dose.