Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s handpicked vaccine committee has voted to dismantle universal hepatitis B vaccination guidelines for newborns, allowing parents to delay or skip shots that have prevented 99% of childhood infections over three decades.
Story Highlights
- ACIP committee votes 8-3 to weaken universal hepatitis B birth dose recommendations
- New guidance allows parents to delay vaccination until 2 months for babies whose mothers test negative
- Current policy credited with a 99% reduction in childhood hepatitis B infections over 30 years
- Medical experts warn that change could reverse decades of public health progress
Kennedy’s Committee Overturns Three Decades of Public Health Success
Kennedy’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted Friday to abandon the longstanding recommendation that all babies receive hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of birth.
The 8-3 vote replaced universal guidelines with individualized decision-making for infants whose mothers test negative for the virus. This dramatic policy shift overturns guidance that has driven down childhood hepatitis B infections by 99% since its implementation thirty years ago.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hand-picked vaccine committee voted on Friday to do away with the long-standing, universal recommendation that all babies receive a hepatitis B shot at birth, issuing weaker guidance for certain infants. https://t.co/btpVnMnLJE pic.twitter.com/fiAIRl5n9d
— CNBC (@CNBC) December 5, 2025
Parents Given Authority Over Medical Protocols Despite Safety Risks
The new recommendations allow parents to consult healthcare providers about delaying the hepatitis B birth dose until babies reach two months old.
However, medical experts emphasize significant risks in this approach, including false negative test results, late-pregnancy infections after testing, and household transmission from infected family members.
Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, a voting committee member, warned that the policy “has great potential to cause harm” and urged the committee to accept responsibility for the resulting consequences.
Medical Establishment Condemns Evidence-Free Decision
The American Medical Association denounced the vote as “reckless and undermines decades of public confidence in a proven, lifesaving vaccine,” stating the decision lacks scientific evidence and creates parental confusion.
Dr. Cody Meissner from Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine predicted more children will suffer hepatitis B infections, emphasizing that delaying vaccination is “not in the interest of infants.”
Committee member Retsef Levi made false claims that experts have “never tested” the hepatitis B vaccine “appropriately,” despite decades of safety data.
Policy Change Threatens Proven Prevention Success
A 2024 CDC study documented how current vaccination schedules prevented over 6 million hepatitis B infections and nearly 1 million related hospitalizations.
Hepatitis B poses severe risks to infants, including liver disease, chronic infection, and early death, with no cure available for chronic cases.
Vaccine manufacturers Merck and GSK expressed deep concern about reversing medical progress and putting infants at unnecessary risk. The CDC director must still approve these recommendations before implementation.
