The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee has voted to end its longstanding recommendation that all newborns receive a hepatitis B shot at birth, instead limiting the guidance to infants at higher risk. President Donald Trump praised the move and signed a memorandum directing a broader review of the childhood vaccination schedule, signaling a major shift in U.S. vaccine policy.
In an 8-3 vote this week, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine panel, voted to end its universal recommendation that all newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccine dose shortly after birth. The panel now recommends a birth dose only for infants whose mothers test positive for hepatitis B or whose infection status is unknown, while calling for individual decision-making between parents and clinicians when mothers have tested negative.
The change marks a significant departure from a policy dating back to 1991, under which nearly all U.S. infants received their first hepatitis B dose within 24 hours of delivery, followed by completion of a three-dose series in early childhood.
ACIP members also backed a new approach to the three-dose series. In a separate 6-4 vote, the panel recommended that some children could potentially forgo later doses if antibody testing after earlier shots shows sufficient protection, and urged that such testing be covered by insurance.
On Friday, President Donald Trump publicly endorsed the ACIP decision in a post on Truth Social, calling it “very good” and arguing that most newborns face little risk from hepatitis B, which is often spread through sexual contact or shared needles. In his post, cited by The Daily Wire, Trump wrote that the committee had made “a very good decision to END their Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendation for babies, the vast majority of whom are at NO RISK of Hepatitis B, a disease that is mostly transmitted sexually, or through dirty needles.”
Trump also criticized the broader childhood immunization schedule, asserting that “The American Childhood Vaccine Schedule long required 72 ‘jabs,’ for perfectly healthy babies, far more than any other Country in the World, and far more than is necessary. In fact, it is ridiculous! Many parents and scientists have been questioning the efficacy of this ‘schedule,’ as have I!” according to his Truth Social statement reported by The Daily Wire.
The president said he had signed a presidential memorandum directing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to “FAST TRACK” a comprehensive evaluation of childhood vaccine schedules used in other countries, with the goal of better aligning the U.S. schedule with what he called the “Gold Standard of Science and COMMON SENSE.” The order tasks HHS and the CDC with reviewing international practices while maintaining vaccine access, according to coverage by outlets including Politico.
Trump added that he was “fully confident Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the CDC, will get this done, quickly and correctly, for our Nation’s Children,” concluding the post with “MAHA!,” a slogan he has used in prior statements.
Under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the department has also moved to modify federal COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and to promote separate chickenpox vaccination for very young infants, while signaling openness to further reviews of vaccine safety, The Daily Wire reports.
The hepatitis B vote has drawn strong criticism from many public health and medical groups, which warn the shift could lead to more infant infections and undermine decades of progress achieved through universal newborn vaccination. Final adoption of the new recommendations will depend on action by the CDC’s acting director.