U.S. Vaccine Advisory Committee Alters Hepatitis B Birth Dose Recommendation

Sat Dec 06 2025 04:48:21 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

A significant change has emerged in U.S. vaccination guidelines as the federal advisory committee votes to limit the hepatitis B vaccine recommendation for newborns, allowing parents to make decisions based on their child's risk factors.

In a historic shift, a federal vaccine advisory committee has voted to modify the longstanding recommendation of administering the hepatitis B vaccine to all newborns immediately after birth. The new guidelines suggest that the birth dose should only be given to infants of mothers with known hepatitis B infection or cases where the mother's status is unknown. This decision has sparked considerable debate regarding public health risks and vaccine efficacy.

NEW YORK (AP) — A crucial decision regarding infant vaccination has been made by a federal vaccine advisory committee, which voted on Friday to amend the long-established guideline that required all U.S. babies to receive the hepatitis B vaccine promptly after birth.

Traditionally, health authorities have endorsed immediate vaccination for newborns against hepatitis B, a liver infection with potential long-term health implications, viewing this practice as an essential public health measure that has successfully reduced illness rates over the years.

However, following recent discussions, the committee, under U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has now recommended that the birth dose be administered selectively, specifically to infants whose mothers testing positive for the virus or whose infection status remains unknown. For other newborns, the determination of whether to provide the birth dose will be left to parental discretion and the advice of their healthcare providers.

In cases where the birth dose is not given, health officials advise that the hepatitis B vaccination should begin no earlier than two months of age.

Some committee members expressed that most infants have a low risk of hepatitis B infection, arguing that previous studies aimed at assessing potential long-term vaccine harms were limited in scope. This perspective has raised concerns among various medical groups who fear that this decision may inadvertently lead to an increase in hepatitis B infections among children.

The acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jim O’Neill, is expected to announce whether he will endorse the committee’s recommendation in the coming days.

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