Overview
- In an 8–3 vote, the ACIP ended guidance that all newborns receive a hepatitis B shot within 24 hours, advising individual decisions for infants of mothers who test negative and suggesting no earlier than two months for the first dose if the birth dose is declined.
- A separate vote passed 6–4, with one abstention, recommending serology testing to assess antibodies before giving additional hepatitis B doses.
- The reconstituted committee was appointed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and dissenting members said no evidence justified delaying the first shot to two months.
- Major medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, condemned the change as likely to increase pediatric infections, citing decades of data and a roughly 99% drop in cases under the 1991 birth‑dose policy, with WHO data showing most countries still recommend a birth dose.
- The recommendations require sign‑off by acting CDC director Jim O’Neill, and officials said parents who choose the birth dose can still get it covered by insurance, including federal programs.