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7h ago

CDC Vaccine Panel Shelves Hepatitis B Birth-Dose Change, Backs Universal Prenatal Testing

The birth-dose policy stays in place pending clearer evidence.

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U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., looks on as he attends to testify before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on President Donald Trump's 2026 health care agenda, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 4, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/ File Photo
U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) attends a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing with former U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez (not pictured), who was ousted after resisting changes to vaccine policy that were advanced by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and that she believed contradicted scientific evidence, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
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Overview

  • ACIP voted 11–1 to table a proposal that would have delayed the first hepatitis B dose to at least one month for infants of mothers who test negative.
  • The current recommendation to give newborns the vaccine within 24 hours remains, a policy credited with a roughly 95%–97% drop in pediatric hepatitis B since adoption in 1991.
  • Members cited unclear voting language and unresolved questions about safety and timing, while CDC scientists reported no benefit to waiting and warned of potential harms from delays.
  • The committee unanimously recommended universal hepatitis B testing for all pregnant women, noting CDC data that 12%–16% lack documented screening during pregnancy.
  • Next steps are undecided, with the next ACIP meeting tentatively set for Oct. 22–23 after a meeting that also moved away from the combined MMRV shot in young children.