Vaccine Advisory Panel Takes Critical Vote On Hepatitis B Shot

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, has voted 8-3 to end the blanket recommendation that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth.

The panel, hand-selected by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., recommended consultation with a health care provider and individual decision-making.

ACIP, voted 8-3 to recommend hepatitis B at birth only for infants born to women who test positive for the virus that attacks the liver. Women whose hepatitis B status is negative or unknown should talk with their doctors about vaccination, the recommendation says. pic.twitter.com/FUvHJFk800

— Dr. Kat Lindley (@KLVeritas) December 5, 2025

STAT News has more:

Specifically, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that parents discuss with their doctors whether to give the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, or at all, and that those who choose to do so wait to begin the vaccine series until their baby is at least 2 months old. That recommendation applies to mothers who test negative for hepatitis B during their pregnancy.

The CDC currently recommends that all babies receive a dose of hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth — 12 hours, if they are born to hepatitis B-infected mothers — to protect them from the virus.

The vote does not change the policy for babies born to mothers who tested positive for hepatitis B during pregnancy or whose status is unknown. They should continue to receive a dose of vaccine at birth as well as a dose of hepatitis B immune globulin.

The recommendation will go to the CDC director for final approval.

BREAKING: ACIP VOTES TO REMOVE UNIVERSAL HEP B VAX RECOMMENDATION FOR INFANTS UNDER TWO MONTHS

This recommendation will go to the CDC director for final approval. pic.twitter.com/al1wDMaWWY

— Children’s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) December 5, 2025

In another vote, the panel recommended 6 to 4, with 1 abstention, that parents who decide to give their child the hepatitis B vaccine consider having him or her tested after a first dose to determine if additional doses are needed.

Mainstream outlets highlighted the opposition to the recommendation change by the medical establishment.

CBS News shared further:

Many medical experts and organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics opposed such a change, saying it will leave young children at risk of an infection that can cause lifelong illness. They point to decades of research confirming the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness.

The decision came on the second day of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ December meeting, after confusion on Thursday led to the vote being delayed.

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The panel — whose members were all appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — began the day with a reading of the proposed voting language, followed by discussion from the panel members and other experts. Restef Levi, an ACIP member and mathematician who has no medical training, strongly argued against the universal birth dose, falsely claiming that experts had “never tested (the vaccines) appropriately.” Levi said he believed the committee should not recommend any timeline for the vaccine.

Dr. Cody Meissner, a pediatrics professor who previously served as a member of the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccines panel and an ACIP board member, and committee member Dr. Joseph Hibbeln continued to criticize the efforts to change the recommendations. Hibbeln said this was the fourth version of the language presented in 96 hours, and that “no rational science has been presented” to support changing the recommendations. Meisner emphasized that leaving the recommendation as-is would still allow parents to make their own choices about the vaccines their child receives.

“We’ve heard ‘do no harm’ as a moral imperative. We are doing harm by changing this wording,” Meissner said as he voted to oppose the change.