RFK Jr.’s Panel Weakens FDA Guidance
- The shift in hepatitis B vaccination guidance is a significant event, not just for public health but also for the broader implications of political influence on scientific recommendations.
- Kennedy Jr.'s handpicked vaccine committee voted on Friday to do away with the long-standing, universal recommendation that all babies receive a hepatitis B shot at birth, issuing...
- The group, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, recommended that parents use individual decision-making in consultation with a health-care provider to determine when or if...
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Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendation Changes Under RFK Jr.’s Appointees
Table of Contents
What Happened: The ACIP Vote
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s handpicked vaccine committee voted on Friday to do away with the long-standing, universal recommendation that all babies receive a hepatitis B shot at birth, issuing weaker guidance for certain infants.
The group, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, recommended that parents use individual decision-making in consultation with a health-care provider to determine when or if to give the hepatitis B birth dose to a baby whose mother tested negative for the virus. For babies who don’t receive the birth dose, the committee recommended that they wait to receive a first vaccine until they are at least 2 months old.
The acting director of the Centers for disease Control and Prevention still has to sign off on that new recommendation. The CDC currently recommends that every baby get vaccinated against hepatitis B within 24 hours of birth, regardless of their mother’s testing status.
Why This Matters: The Public Health Implications
The move overturns that guidance, which has been credited with driving