RFK Jr.-appointed panel removes universal hepatitis B vaccine recommendations for U.S. infants

A panel of advisers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has voted to remove the long-standing recommendation to universally vaccinate American infants against hepatitis B.

For infants of mothers who test negative, the panel recommended that parents, in consultation with a health-care provider, should decide when or if their child will begin the vaccine series. Under the scrapped recommendation, the birth dose is followed by two more vaccines, at one to two months and six to 18 months.

Since 1991, the U.S. has had a universal hepatitis B vaccine recommendation, including administering a dose just after birth. The vaccine cuts infection rates by 95 per cent, studies have found.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) makes recommendations on the use of vaccines for Americans to the CDC director who then sets policy. While many insurers make choices about which shots to pay for based on the committee's recommendations, some insurers have said they won't change their vaccine coverage based on these more recent votes by the panel.

The American Academy of Pediatrics said in a news release that the "irresponsible and purposely misleading" guidance would harm children. “I want to reassure parents and clinicians that there is no new or concerning information about the hepatitis B vaccine that is prompting this change, nor has children’s risk of contracting hepatitis B changed," said the AAP's president, Susan J. Kressly.

"Instead, this is the result of a deliberate strategy to sow fear and distrust among families.”