Major US Advisory Committee to Decide on Changing Baby Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendation
Following a postponement and a remarkably divisive meeting, a government vaccine expert group was set to cast ballots on Friday regarding a potential change to the longstanding recommendation that each baby be vaccinated against hepatitis B.
Intense Discussion and a Delayed Ballot
The first day of the assembly on Thursday was characterized by intense argument over restricting access to the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns and a resolution to defer the vote by a day to provide committee members extra time to scrutinize the phrasing. The group, which guides the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccination protocols, had previously delayed on two occasions.
“Is there any concrete proof of damage of giving this vaccination before 30 days? Or is this theory?” questioned one panel member.
In answer, another member stated, “There is limited evidence about the long-term risk.”
Present Protocol and Potential Impact
The injection is currently suggested for all infants within 24 hours of being born to stop transmission of hepatitis B, which can lead to major damage to the liver. It has been provided to over a billion individuals for more than three decades.
The Atlanta conference offered no new evidence of harms caused by the vaccine. Authorities state any alteration to the existing hepatitis B vaccination schedule could have profound and widespread repercussions for pediatric well-being in the United States.
Panel Composition and Recent Changes
The expert committee can only provide advice to the head of the CDC. The committee's composition has seen shifts recently, with the declaration that the group's former head would leave for an agency job and be replaced by a heart specialist who has been critical of other inoculations.
The board includes multiple immunization doubters who align with a goal to reform – and potentially, in some cases, scrap – traditional vaccination recommendations.
