Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s influential vaccine advisory panel on Friday, Dec. 12, voted to no longer universally recommend the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns within 24 hours of birth.
One day after tabling the vote during a contentious meeting, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended "individual-based decision making" for parents of babies born to mothers who test negative for hepatitis B. For parents who decline the birth dose, the panel recommended the first shot be delayed to "no earlier than two months of age."
Committee members who supported the change emphasized the panel still recommended newborns get vaccinated at birth when born to a mother with hepatitis B. The panel's recommendations are sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director. The committee does not have regulatory authority, but states often consider the panel's recommendation when requiring vaccines for school-age children and other groups.
Robert Malone, the committee's vice chairman, characterized the vote as one that pitted individual rights against societal obligations.
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