Overview
- An advisory committee aligned with current HHS and CDC leadership voted to drop the longstanding universal recommendation that newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccine dose at birth.
- Coverage reports that Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaced previous CDC vaccine advisers with allies ahead of the vote.
- Experts including Michael Osterholm and Cody Meissner warned the decision undermines confidence in federal guidance and risks more pediatric hepatitis B cases.
- Senator Bill Cassidy, who supported Kennedy’s confirmation, criticized the change and urged Acting CDC Director O’Neill not to approve the new recommendations.
- Cassidy drew intense online criticism over his confirmation vote as earlier HHS-directed edits to CDC vaccine–autism language continued to fuel concerns about political interference.