Federal Panel Delays Decision on Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccine
(AP) – A federal vaccine advisory committee on Thursday voted to delay a decision on whether newborns should still receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, meeting in Atlanta, postponed the decision until Friday after members expressed confusion regarding the voting language and some voiced concerns about taking such a step.
For decades,the government has recommended all babies be vaccinated against the liver infection shortly after birth,a practice widely considered a public health success in preventing thousands of illnesses.
However, U.S. Health Secretary robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s committee is now considering recommending the birth dose only for babies whose mothers test positive for hepatitis B, a return to a strategy abandoned over three decades ago. For other babies,the decision of whether to administer a birth dose would be left to parents and their doctors.
Committee member Vicky Pebsworth stated a work group was assigned in September to evaluate the necessity of a birth dose when mothers test negative for hepatitis B.
“We need to address stakeholder and parent dissatisfaction” with the current suggestion,she said.
The committee’s recommendations are typically directed to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the use of already approved vaccines. Historically, CDC directors have almost always adopted these recommendations, which are widely followed by doctors and inform vaccination programs. Currently,the agency lacks a permanent director,leaving acting director Jim O’Neill to make the final decision.
Kennedy, a former leading anti-vaccine activist, fired the entire 17-member panel earlier this year and replaced it with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices.
The panel has already made several decisions that have drawn criticism from major medical groups.
At a June meeting,it recommended removing a preservative called thimerosal from flu vaccine doses,even though some members acknowledged a lack of evidence demonstrating harm.
In September, it recommended new restrictions on a combination shot protecting against chickenpox, measles, mumps, and rubella. The panel also took the unprecedented step of not recommending COVID-19 vaccinations, even for high-risk populations like seniors, rather making it a matter of personal choice.
Several doctors groups have stated these changes are not based on sound evidence and have advised doctors and patients to continue following previous guidance.