Overview
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia researchers analyzed Epic Cosmos records for more than five million newborns across 403 U.S. hospitals from 2017 to 2024.
- The share of infants not receiving intramuscular vitamin K increased from 2.92% to 5.18%, representing roughly 200,000 babies who missed the shot.
- The uptick began around 2019 and accelerated during and after the pandemic, with the highest refusal rates reported among non-Hispanic White infants.
- According to the CDC, babies who forgo the shot are about 80 times more likely to experience severe vitamin K deficiency bleeding, including intracranial hemorrhage.
- Authors and outside experts point to misinformation and confusion with vaccines, stress that oral vitamin K is less reliable, and note the study did not document a national rise in bleeding cases.