CDC advisory panel votes to limit hepatitis B vaccines for newborns
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CDC Panel Votes to Scale Back Infant Hepatitis B Vaccine
Above: Members of the CDC vaccine advisory panel at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., on Dec. 5, 2025. Image credit: Megan Varner/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
Allowing parents and doctors to decide on the Hep B birth dose protects children by matching care to actual risk. With only 0.5% of mothers testing positive and tests 100% accurate, most newborns face minimal danger. This shift promotes informed consent, real safety review and focuses resources on families who truly need protection.
Pro-establishment narrative
Ending the universal Hep B birth dose ignores decades of evidence. A safe, proven vaccine drove newborn infections from 20,000 a year to under 20. Delaying it increases the odds that children slip through the cracks and cases rise. Weakening a successful, science-based policy needlessly risks Americans' health.