The US Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) no longer recommends that all US newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine, marking an abrupt end to over 30 years of medical guidance concerning the jab in the country.
The decision was widely expected given the outcome of the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) hearing in early December. Members of the panel voted to instate “individual-based decision-making”, instead of a universal recommendation for hepatitis B immunisation at birth. A birth dose will only be given to newborns whose mothers test positive for hepatitis B or whose status is unclear.
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Signed off by CDC director Jim O’Neil, the new guidance means that parents and health care providers will be tasked with weighing vaccine benefits against risks as to whether a child born to a hepatitis B-negative mother will begin the vaccine series.
For those infants not receiving the birth dose, the agency recommends that the initial dose be administered no earlier than two months of age.
O’Neil said: “This recommendation reflects ACIP’s rigorous review of the available evidence. We are restoring the balance of informed consent to parents whose newborns face little risk of contracting hepatitis B.”
The introspection of hepatitis B vaccine recommendations and safety has been a source of controversy in the medical sector. Certain statements made during the ACIP hearing raised eyebrows, given that they were at odds with established medical evidence. Indeed, the outcome of the panel’s vote drew widespread condemnation from medical bodies.
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By GlobalDataVaccines to prevent hepatitis B first won US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 1986. The US has recommended universal vaccination for infants against the illness since 1991, with the first of three shots administered very soon after birth. Data shows that since the implementation of vaccination at birth, chronic hepatitis B cases in children and adolescents have fallen by 99%.
Reacting to the CDC guidance, American Medical Association (AMA) trustee Dr Sandra Adamson Fryhofer stated: “Decades of scientific evidence shows that the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine is essential to protecting all newborns from a serious, chronic infection that can lead to liver disease, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and even death.
“Rolling back this recommendation creates confusion and doubt about vaccines, reverses hard-won progress in preventing hepatitis B, and will undoubtedly result in completely preventable illness and death.”
The structure and expertise of the current ACIP committee have drawn criticism. US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy (RFK) Jr fired the previous panel in June, replacing them with vaccine sceptics and individuals who have been critical of both the Covid-19 vaccines and related countermeasures such as lockdowns.
