A United States vaccine advisory panel, recently reformed to include known vaccine skeptics, voted to eliminate a three-decade-long recommendation that all newborns in the US receive a vaccine to protect against hepatitis B (Hep B) at birth –  a change that was denounced immediately by medical groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Physicians. The recommendation must be approved by the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), voted 8-3 to revise the US’s childhood immunization schedule for Hep B for the first time since 1991, saying that the shot is no longer necessary for babies born to mothers who test negative for the virus. 

Instead, ACIP recommended that parents delay the first dose to no earlier than two months – and consult with their doctors about whether and when to receive the vaccine.

ACIP vice-chair Robert Malone cited the “cumulative risk” of combined vaccines at birth as a reason for delaying vaccinations. 

But Malone has been criticized for vaccine misinformation. He is one of the new board members appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr following a “purge” of prior board members.

Medical experts urged the panel not to change the schedule 

A long lineup of medical experts who provided feedback to the panel in two days of testimony strongly urged against changing the vaccination schedule, which has been credited with reducing Hep B infections by 99% in the US – by preventing maternal to infant transmission of mostly-asymptomatic Hep B. Globally, the vaccine has prevented millions of infections, per Health Policy Watch’s related coverage.

“This vote is an unnecessary solution looking to find a problem to solve. It will only endanger children and increase risk of death for millions,” said Dr Jason Goldman, the President of the American College of Physicians in remarks to the Committee, whose proceedings were livestreamed.

“I would urge that we go back to our true experts who do this all the time, our CDC colleagues. They could have vetted this misinformation before it was presented to the public,” said hepatitis researcher Dr Amy Middleman pointing to discrepancies in remarks made by the Committee. 

The ACIP panel further recommended that instead of sticking to a set three-dose schedule, medical providers should test the antibody levels in infants to determine whether they should receive additional doses – when and if an initial Hep B dose is administered.

The problem with this approach, according to physicians, is that there is no implementation research or cost analysis of doing additional blood draws to back up this approach. “We should do the studies first to determine if fewer doses are actually effective,” said Dr Judith Shlay, a family medicine specialist, in remarks to the committee. 

Republican senator speaks out against recommendation

As a liver doctor who has treated patients with hepatitis B for decades, this change to the vaccine schedule is a mistake. The hepatitis B vaccine is safe and effective. The birth dose is a recommendation, NOT a mandate.

Before the birth dose was recommended, 20,000 newborns a…

— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) December 5, 2025

Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a medical doctor and chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), urged the acting CDC director to reject the ACIP’s recommendations. Kennedy was a critical vote in confirming Kennedy’s appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

“As a liver doctor who has treated patients with hepatitis B for decades, this change to the vaccine schedule is a mistake. The hepatitis B vaccine is safe and effective,” he said in a post on X.

“Before the birth dose was recommended, 20,000 newborns a year were infected with hepatitis B. Now, it’s fewer than 20. Ending the recommendation for newborns makes it more likely the number of cases will begin to increase again. This makes America sicker,” he commented. 

Cassidy referred to the drop in US Hep B infections over the past three decades. Now, most cases of Hep B in the US occur in the Appalachian region, which suffers from a higher poverty rate compared to the rest of the country, according to CDC surveillance.

“Acting CDC Director O’Neill should not sign these new recommendations and instead retain the current, evidence-based approach.”

Image Credits: CDC.