Friday, the secretary of health and social services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The decision means that the current committee recommendation – that all infants receive a hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth – will remain in place until the group will meet on a later date. We do not know when the panel, called the advisory committee of vaccination practices, or ACIP, will meet again to discuss the shot of hepatitis B.
The AICIP was planning to delay the first dose of the vaccine until the age of at least a month for babies of women who test negative for hepatitis B. which would change a safe and very effective birth dose recommendation that was introduced in 1991 and is recognized to eliminate the disease in young children.
Some advisers have defended the recommendation of the birth dose at the meeting, claiming that the delay could introduce potential risks for babies, including more infections. But others, in particular those who are known to the criticisms of the vaccines, have questioned the security of the administration of the vaccine to the babies so early.
Dr. Robert Malone, who acquired a reputation for the promotion of cocovid disinformation, brought the request by postponing the vote.
“I believe that there is enough ambiguity here and enough discussions remaining on the safety, efficiency and calendar that I think that a vote today would be premature,” said Malone.
The 12 members supported the motion. Dr Cody Meissner, professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, said: “I do not think there is a question that the benefit [of the birth dose] far prevails over unwanted side effects. “”
The postponed vote only affects the time of the first dose of the vaccine series of hepatitis B. The second would still be given one to two months after birth, with a third dose between six and 18 months.
Also Friday, the group voted to recommend hepatitis B tests for all pregnant women. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most recent director of which has been ousted by the Trump administration, must sign the committee’s new and future recommendations.
The two -day meeting looked closely at Atlanta over two days after Kennedy emptied the committee and appointed 12 new members, including well -known vaccine reviews. The AIPI establishes recommendations on which should receive certain plans and what insurers of vaccines must cover at no cost, which raises concerns among health experts that the Kennedy reshaped panel could limit access to safe and effective vaccinations.
Hepatitis B has been a vital public health intervention against disease, which can lead to serious health problems, including liver cancer and failure and death. Acute hepatitis B infections reported among children and adolescents dropped by 99% between 1990 and 2019, certain studies said. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that the so-called birth dose is essential to reduce chronic hepatitis B later in life.
Thursday, advisers and other scientific experts clashed on the security of the birth dose.
“I believe that this vaccine is absolutely essential for babies who are treated,” said member Retsef Levi, who expressed his opposition to RNA vaccines. “But this notion that we sit here with very ugly evidence and we argue that there is no problem [with administering the shot at birth] Do not trust confidence, and it is not scientific and this is not what the public here should expect from us. “”
But Meissner said that the modification of the recommendation “will increase the risk of damage based on any evidence”. He said there will be fewer children who will get the complete series of hepatitis B vaccines, adding that the shooting at the hospital is guaranteed that babies receive their first dose at least.
“As people asked, why were we going to choose a month? Why two? There is no evidence that it is safer later,” said Meissner. “It is an extremely safe vaccine, a very pure vaccine. So I think we will create new doubts in the mind of the public that are not justified.”
Before the vote, the American Medical Association strongly urged the panel to maintain the birth dose recommendation in place. Other experts outside the panel have also expressed their concern about the modification of the directives.
“I have not seen any data that says that there are advantages for the child to wait a month, but there are a number of potential damage to the incident to wait a month,” said Dr Adam Langer, an epidemiologist of the CDC who made a presentation on the birth dose of hepatitis B, before the vote.
During its presentation, Langer said: “The earlier the hepatitis B vaccine is provided after birth, the greater its effectiveness to prevent perinatal transmission.” This refers to the moment when an infant is infected with his mother during birth.
CrippleWho makes one of the vaccines used from birth, postponed the recommendation proposed before the official vote of the panel on Thursday.
“The reconsideration of vaccination on hepatitis B of the newborn in the established calendar presents a serious risk for the health of children and the public, which could lead to a resurgence of avoidable infectious diseases,” said Merck and global and infectious medical diseases of Dr. Richard Haupt.
GSK manufactures another blow of hepatitis B from birth.