Anonymousabout 3 hours ago
In December 2025, the CDC's reconstituted Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 8-3 to end the universal recommendation for hepatitis B vaccination at birth, shifting to "shared clinical decision-making" for infants born to mothers who test negative for the virus. Multiple modeling studies project the policy change will cause over 1,400 additional chronic hepatitis B infections per year, hundreds of eventual liver cancer cases and deaths, and more than $200 million in annual excess healthcare costs — while medical organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics have rejected the new guidance and say they will continue recommending the birth dose.