Overview
- ACIP voted 8–3 to end the universal hepatitis B dose at birth and to defer vaccination until at least two months for infants of mothers who test negative, a change that requires adoption by acting CDC director Jim O’Neill.
- Five major Michigan systems — McLaren, Munson, Henry Ford Health, Corewell Health and University of Michigan Health — say they will keep offering the birth dose, echoing pledges by other providers and states to retain current practice.
- Forty‑four medical and professional groups, including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics, have publicly opposed the new guidance and urged continuation of universal newborn vaccination.
- Public‑health experts warn that relying on maternal screening could miss infected mothers because hepatitis B tests can produce 2%–3% false negatives, putting newborns at risk if the birth dose is deferred.
- President Donald Trump directed HHS and the CDC to review vaccine schedules in peer countries, a comparison experts say is not applicable to the U.S. system; ACIP has also moved to split the combined MMRV shot, signaling broader shifts in federal guidance.