Multiple states and major medical societies say they will continue to universally recommend hepatitis B vaccination for newborns in a break with newly revised guidance from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
The ACIP committee voted Dec. 5 to end a decades-old recommendation that all newborns receive their first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. Instead, the panel voted in favor of shared-decision making for mothers who test negative for the virus. For mothers who test negative and choose to vaccinate their baby, the committee recommends waiting until the child is at least 2 months old. Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill has not officially signed off on the recommendations.
Major medical societies, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and theAmerican Medical Medical Association, have condemned the committee’s revised guidance and are calling on the CDC director to reject it, arguing the decision was not based on scientific evidence and creates confusion for parents.
Connecticut, New York, Maine and New Jersey are among states that will continue following the AAP’s recommendation that all newborns receive a dose within 24 hours of birth, according to reports from Bloomberg and CIDRAP News. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago will also continue following the longstanding guidance, leaders told CIDRAP.
“The pediatric vaccine schedule currently adopted in the U.S. is based on decades of research, extensive real-world experience, and vetting by well-trained and unbiased medical and public health experts,” said Larry Kociolek, MD, vice president of system preparedness, prevention and response at Lurie Children’s. “We will continue to endorse the pediatric vaccine schedule currently in place.”
He added that ACIP’s revised recommendations “were made without any new research suggesting that the current vaccine schedule is flawed in terms of its safety or effectiveness.”
Meanwhile, regional health alliances that states formed earlier this year as an alternative to ACIP recommendations have also rejected the revised guidance.
Major health insurance groups including the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and AHIP have said they will continue to cover all vaccines recommended by ACIP, as of Jan. 1, 2025, including the hepatitis B birth dose.
