Federal Vaccine Advisory Committee Reconsiders Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccination

Fri Dec 05 2025 05:02:11 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a controversial meeting, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s panel debates whether the hepatitis B vaccine should still be administered to all newborns immediately after birth or limited to infants born to infected mothers.

The federal vaccine advisory committee, under the leadership of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is reassessing the longstanding policy of administering the hepatitis B vaccine to all newborns at birth. With a significant reduction in cases over the past 30 years, discussions are centered around possibly restricting the shot to babies of infected mothers and allowing parents more agency in the decision. The meeting highlighted rising concerns about vaccine policy changes since Kennedy restructured the panel, leading to tense discussions about immunization safety.

A federal vaccine advisory committee convened Thursday in Atlanta to discuss whether newborns should still get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they’re born.

For decades, the government has advised that all babies be vaccinated against the liver infection right after birth. The shots are widely considered to be a public health success for preventing thousands of illnesses.

But U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s committee is considering whether to recommend the birth dose only for babies whose mothers test positive, marking a potential return to strategies from over three decades ago. For other newborns, the decision would be left to parents and healthcare providers.

Committee member Vicky Pebsworth mentioned a work group was established in September to evaluate if a birth dose is necessary for babies with negative maternal hepatitis B tests.

“We need to address stakeholder and parent dissatisfaction,” Pebsworth stated.

This committee advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director on the use of approved vaccines, with past recommendations almost universally adopted by the agency, currently under a temporary leadership due to an absence of a permanent director.

The panel’s recent decisions have caused discontent among medical professionals. It notably recommended that a preservative called thimerosal be removed from flu vaccines despite the lack of evidence linking it to harm.

Hepatitis B is a serious liver infection that could become chronic for some individuals, especially infants, who constitute a high-risk category for liver complications. In 1991, the panel recommended administering the hepatitis B vaccine at birth; over three decades, cases among children dropped significantly.

However, Kennedy’s committee has seen dissent concerning the universality of the vaccine's administration during infancy, reflected in presentations that were not aligned with conventional medical guidelines.

As the committee moves forward, a vote on future guidelines is anticipated, emphasizing the importance of parental choice in vaccination protocols.