CDC Panel Drops Universal Hepatitis B Vaccine at Birth, Doctors Concerned

A key U.S. health panel voted Friday to end its recommendation that all newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth. The decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) vaccine advisors has raised alarm among many doctors. The vote changes a decades-old policy. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) now says the shot should be given to infants only if their mother tests positive for hepatitis B or if her status is unknown. Medical experts warn this shift could put some babies at risk. Hepatitis B is a serious liver infection. It can be passed from mother to child during birth. Infected newborns have a very high chance of developing a chronic, lifelong illness. The committee cited low infection rates and a desire to reduce routine medical interventions as reasons for the change. However, critics note that not all mothers receive proper prenatal testing. A mother's hepatitis B status can sometimes be misrecorded or unknown at delivery. Without the universal birth dose, doctors fear some infected infants will miss this critical early protection. The CDC director must still approve the panel's recommendation before it becomes official policy.