U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. attends a press conference to discuss health insurance reform, at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC, U.S., June 23, 2025.
Kevin Mohatt | Reuters
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hand-picked vaccine committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to change a longstanding recommendation that every baby be vaccinated against hepatitis B within 24 hours of birth.
It’s unclear whether the committee, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, will significantly delay or eliminate this so-called birth dose of the vaccine altogether. The group proposed a vote on the vaccine in September because some members called for further discussion beforehand.
But either change could have far-reaching consequences: Some public health experts say vaccinating fewer newborns against the virus could lead to an increase in chronic infections among children.
Hepatitis B, which can be passed from mother to baby during childbirth, can lead to liver disease and premature death. There is no cure.
“We have a very effective vaccine to prevent an incurable disease. We should take full advantage of it,” Neil Maniar, a professor of public health at Northeastern University, told CNBC.
The birth dose recommendation was introduced in 1991 and has since been credited with reducing infections in children by 99%. Maniar called it “a remarkable achievement that we run the risk of reversing” if the committee changes the recommendation.
The committee’s decisions are not legally binding, as it is up to states to mandate vaccination. But the ACIP’s recommendations have significant implications for whether private insurance plans and government assistance programs cover vaccines for eligible children at no cost.
The committee’s upcoming two-day meeting in Atlanta comes after Kennedy gutted the committee earlier this year and appointed 12 new members, including some well-known vaccine critics. At the September meeting, some councilors raised questions about whether the benefits of the shot outweighed the potential safety risks.
But the vaccine is “an incredibly safe vaccine with minimal risks,” Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ infectious diseases committee, said during a press briefing Tuesday.
“I’ve never seen a fever actually associated with the hepatitis B vaccine,” said O’Leary, who practiced for eight years as a general pediatrician and worked in a newborn day care center.
The AAP, which publishes its own vaccination schedule, still recommends the universal birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine because “it saves lives,” he added.
A new review, published Tuesday, of more than 400 studies spanning four decades also found no evidence that delaying administration of the universal dose of hepatitis B vaccine until birth improves safety or effectiveness. The review also found that the birth dose does not cause any serious adverse events or deaths in the short or long term.
A 2024 CDC study showed that the current vaccination schedule has prevented more than 6 million hepatitis B infections and nearly 1 million hepatitis B-related hospitalizations.
Merck and GSK make hepatitis B vaccines used from birth. Neither plan constitutes a significant source of revenue for businesses.
Yet at the September panel meeting, Merck backed away from changing the recommendation.
“Reconsidering vaccination of newborns against hepatitis B on schedule poses a serious risk to the health of children and the public, which could lead to a resurgence of preventable infectious diseases,” Dr. Richard Haupt, Merck’s head of global medical and scientific affairs for vaccines and infectious diseases, said at the time.