A US vaccine advisory panel, led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has voted to eliminate a key recommendation that newborn babies receive the hepatitis B vaccine immediately after birth. The decision was made without any evidence of harm from the one-time dose or data showing benefits from delaying it.
Critics on the committee, including some members who voted against the change, argue that this move will lead to more cases of hepatitis B infection in babies and increase the risk of chronic liver disease, liver cancer, and premature death. The committee's decision is also seen as undermining decades of public trust in a vaccine widely recognized for its life-saving benefits.
The recommendation was made after attempts to vaccinate only high-risk infants failed, leading to a significant spike in infected infants between 1979 and 1989. However, this universal recommendation has been in place since 1991, with the hepatitis B vaccine being administered at birth nearly eliminating post-birth infections.
Despite the lack of data supporting the change, the committee voted 8-3 to withdraw the long-standing universal recommendation and instead recommended a new approach where only babies born to mothers known to be infected with the virus or those born to untested mothers should receive the birth dose. Parents would then use "individual-based decision making" to decide if the vaccine is necessary for their child.
Experts are warning that this new approach creates an opportunity for newborns to contract the highly infectious virus from false-negative test results or other sources, putting thousands of lives at risk in the US alone. Only a small percentage of infected individuals are aware they carry the virus.
Critics, including medical experts and some members of the committee, have condemned the decision as "reckless" and "based on baseless skepticism." The move is seen as an attempt to undermine public confidence in vaccines and may lead to confusion among parents about how best to protect their newborns.
Critics on the committee, including some members who voted against the change, argue that this move will lead to more cases of hepatitis B infection in babies and increase the risk of chronic liver disease, liver cancer, and premature death. The committee's decision is also seen as undermining decades of public trust in a vaccine widely recognized for its life-saving benefits.
The recommendation was made after attempts to vaccinate only high-risk infants failed, leading to a significant spike in infected infants between 1979 and 1989. However, this universal recommendation has been in place since 1991, with the hepatitis B vaccine being administered at birth nearly eliminating post-birth infections.
Despite the lack of data supporting the change, the committee voted 8-3 to withdraw the long-standing universal recommendation and instead recommended a new approach where only babies born to mothers known to be infected with the virus or those born to untested mothers should receive the birth dose. Parents would then use "individual-based decision making" to decide if the vaccine is necessary for their child.
Experts are warning that this new approach creates an opportunity for newborns to contract the highly infectious virus from false-negative test results or other sources, putting thousands of lives at risk in the US alone. Only a small percentage of infected individuals are aware they carry the virus.
Critics, including medical experts and some members of the committee, have condemned the decision as "reckless" and "based on baseless skepticism." The move is seen as an attempt to undermine public confidence in vaccines and may lead to confusion among parents about how best to protect their newborns.
I'm so worried about this decision! 
They're basically leaving newborns vulnerable to hepatitis B infection just because they didn't want to make a big change all at once. 
It's like, we already know the vaccine is life-saving and has been doing its job for decades - no need to mess with that! 
The new approach sounds like a recipe for disaster, what if people misdiagnose their baby's test results or something? 
Thousands of lives are at risk here... I don't get why they're being so reckless. 
Can we just stick with the tried and tested method that's worked for years? 
I'm all for choice, but come on... delay a one-time dose of hepatitis B vaccine? It's not like we're talking about a permanent change here 
. The benefits far outweigh the risks and it's been proven time and time again that this vaccine has saved countless lives 
. I mean, what's next? Are they gonna start questioning the safety of flu shots too? 
The risk of chronic liver disease and premature death from hepatitis B far outweighs any potential harm from the vaccine 
. Parents should have confidence in science-backed recommendations, not some "individual-based decision making" that's just a fancy way of saying "let your kid play Russian roulette with their health" 
. This move is just going to create more problems than it solves 
. The fact that they're considering withdrawing a tried-and-true recommendation just because some high-risk infants got infected back in the 80s doesn't seem like a good reason to me. I mean, we've learned so much more about hepatitis B since then, and we know for sure that this vaccine has saved countless lives 
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. We can't let fear-mongering and misinformation lead us into making decisions that put people's lives at risk 
I mean, come on, no data or evidence to support delaying the vaccine and now we're supposed to trust that parents can make informed decisions about their own kids' health? 
We need to stick with the tried-and-true methods here, not some experimental approach that could put thousands of lives at risk. 
! They're basically rolling back a vaccine that's proven to save lives since 1991? The only people who are getting hurt here are the babies who might not get protected from hepatitis B in the first place 
. I mean, come on, if you're worried about false negatives, why not just do more tests instead of taking the vaccine away altogether? 
. The data just isn't there to support this decision, but the committee is choosing to ignore it for some reason that has nothing to do with science 
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u gotta think about the parents' rights here too... they should be able 2 make informed decsions about their own kids 
According to CDC, the hepatitis B vaccine has been administering at birth since 1991 and it's reduced post-birth infections by 90%!!! 
I'm concerned that his bias might be influencing the panel's decision-making process. We can't afford to undermine public trust in life-saving vaccines like this.
The fact that only a small percentage of infected individuals are aware they carry the virus just makes it even more crucial for us to prioritize herd immunity.
and thats not gonna help our babies at all 
not just someones personal opinion or skepticism... my mind is blown 
