Doctors Push Back After Federal Panel Recommends Ending Routine Newborn Hepatitis B Shot

Parents often have questions about vaccines. But confusion is rising after an advisory panel appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recommended ending routine newborn hepatitis B vaccination and signaled broader reviews of the childhood immunization schedule.

Why the Dispute Matters

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has proposed changes that include delaying the routine hepatitis B shot for newborns and reexamining vaccine ingredients and dose schedules. The panel’s recent meeting raised alarm among many clinicians because CDC specialists were not permitted to present data, and several presenters had limited public health or scientific credentials.

FILE - Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a news conference at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

What Leading Medical Groups Say

Major professional organizations — including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Infectious Diseases Society of America and other pediatric, obstetric and family medicine groups — immediately rejected the ACIP recommendation and said they will continue to endorse the established childhood vaccine schedule. They stress that the hepatitis B vaccine has dramatically reduced infections, prevents liver failure and cancer, and has been safely given to tens of millions of children in the U.S.

“We owe our patients a consistent message informed by evidence and lived experience, not messages biased by political imperative.”
— Dr. Ronald Nahass, President, Infectious Diseases Society of America

Concerns About Process and Evidence

Experts say the committee’s recent behavior departs from decades of rigorous review. Observers noted that some members lacked public-health backgrounds, CDC scientists were blocked from presenting key data, and the panel heard a lengthy presentation from a lawyer who has worked on vaccine litigation — an unusual choice that alarmed vaccine policy scholars.

FILE - A doctor holds a vial of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil in Chicago on Aug. 28, 2006. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Some panel members argued that the risk of infant hepatitis B is low and that prior safety research should be reexamined, but infectious disease specialists say no new data have been presented to justify changing a three-dose series that has been shown to provide long-lasting protection.

What Parents Should Do

• Talk to your child’s clinician: Ask for the evidence behind any recommendation and discuss your child’s individual health needs.
• Follow trusted guidance: Many doctors will continue to recommend the established schedule; professional societies and state public-health collaborations are publishing their own guidance that largely mirrors pre-2025 federal advice.
• Look for credible sources: Use CDC, AAP, and major infectious disease society resources when seeking information.

Physicians emphasize honest, evidence-based conversations rather than leaving families to navigate conflicting messages alone. “Ask your questions, bring your concerns and let us talk about them,” said Dr. Sarah Nosal of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Reporting for this story was provided by the Associated Press Health and Science Department, which receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP alone is responsible for the content.