CDC advisory panel rolls back hepatitis B vaccine guidelines: What you need to know

The CDC's vaccine advisory panel on Friday rolled back a decadeslong recommendation that all newborns get a first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel on Friday rolled back a decadeslong recommendation that all newborns get a first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth.

The vote came after a day and a half of heated debate and confusion that included misinterpreted data and pleas from public health experts to uphold recommendations for the vaccine that protects against an incurable infection.

The panel, formally known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — whose members Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired in June and replaced with a group that has largely expressed skepticism of vaccines — recommended that women who test negative for hepatitis B can decide in consultation with a health care provider whether their baby should get the birth dose. The group suggested waiting until at least 2 months of age for the first dose if the vaccine is not given at birth.

Three of the eight members voted against the change.

“We are doing harm by changing this wording and I vote ‘no,’” said Dr. Cody Meissner, the only ACIP member who has previously served on the committee.