US vaccine advisers say not all babies need a hepatitis B shot at birth

"A federal vaccine advisory committee voted on Friday to end the longstanding recommendation that all U.S. babies get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they're born. A loud chorus of medical and public health leaders decried the actions of the panel, whose current members were all appointed by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - a leading anti-vaccine activist before this year becoming the nation's top health official."

"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 Kennedy's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices decided to recommend the birth dose only for babies whose mothers test positive, and in cases where the mom wasn't tested. For other babies, it will be up to the parents and their doctors to decide if a birth dose is appropriate."

"The acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jim O'Neill, is expected to decide later whether to accept the committee's recommendation. The decision marks a return to a public health strategy that was abandoned more than three decades ago. Asked why the newly-appointed committee moved quickly to reexamine the recommendation, committee member Vicky Pebsworth on Thursday cited "pressure from stakeholder groups wanting the policy to be revisited.""

Federal advisers voted to end the longstanding policy that all U.S. newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, shifting the birth-dose recommendation to infants whose mothers test positive or whose mothers were not tested. For other infants, the choice is left to parents and clinicians, with the committee suggesting the vaccine series begin at two months if the birth dose is declined. The acting CDC director will decide whether to adopt the recommendation. Many medical and public health leaders criticized the committee, whose current members were appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. A committee member cited pressure from stakeholder groups to revisit the policy.

Read at ABC7 Los Angeles