Many states say they will defy RFK Jr.’s changes to hepatitis B vaccination.
Most Democratic-led states say they will continue to recommend universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth despite new guidelines issued last week by a federal vaccine advisory panel appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Northeast Public Health Cooperative and West Coast Health Alliance, which formed earlier this year in response to Kennedy’s vaccine policy overhaul, along with other blue states, plan to defy the latest recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP.
Hepatitis B is a serious and incurable infection that can lead to liver damage and liver cancer. It can be transmitted from mother to child during childbirth, and without vaccination, about 90% of babies who are infected at birth will develop chronic hepatitis B infection. Among those with chronic infection, 25% will die prematurely from the disease.
Since 1991, ACIP and the American Academy of Pediatrics have recommended a universal dose of hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth. The earlier the baby receives the vaccine, the greater the chance of preventing chronic infection. The birth dose significantly reduces infection rates in children. Last week, however, Kennedy’s newly formed ACIP, which includes several vaccine skeptics, overturned the 30-year record. In June, Kennedy announced a “purge” of ACIP, removing all 17 of its previous experts and replacing them with new members of his own choosing.
In a chaotic two-day meeting filled with misinformation, the committee voted to recommend hepatitis B vaccine at birth only for babies born to pregnant women who test positive for the virus or whose status is unclear. For those who test negative for hepatitis B, the panel recommended “individualized decision making” — meaning parents should talk to their doctor about vaccination first. If the baby does not receive the first dose at birth, the panel recommends delaying the first dose until the baby is at least two months old.
Medical experts have condemned the decision, saying screening across the United States is flawed and does not detect all infections. Half of the people who have it do not know they are infected.
“The United States made several recommendations for vaccination against hepatitis B, all based on risk. We tried maternal screening, we tried only vaccinating babies born to mothers with hepatitis B, and they all failed. The universal birth dose was the ultimate success and the reason we’ve seen childhood hepatitis B cases decrease since the Jackson policy. Hepatitis B Foundation
