States Defy CDC Panel, Vowing to Keep Hepatitis B Vaccine at Birth

Despite a vote by a CDC advisory panel to remove the hepatitis B vaccine from its recommended schedule for newborns, many Democratic-led states have announced they will continue to recommend the vaccine for infants at birth. This decision comes after attempts by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to influence CDC vaccine recommendations.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) had proposed removing the universal recommendation for the hepatitis B vaccine at birth as part of broader discussions on vaccine schedules. However, public health officials in several states have voiced concerns that such a change could have detrimental effects on public health, leading them to maintain their current vaccination policies. This divergence highlights potential friction between federal guidance and state-level public health strategies.

This article was generated by Gemini AI as part of the automated news generation system.