Hepatitis B vaccine recommendation for newborns dropped

Public health, explained: Sign up to receive Healthbeat’s free national newsletter here. A longstanding recommendation that all babies be vaccinated at birth against hepatitis B was abandoned in a divided vote Friday by a federal advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Members of the committee who voted in favor of the change hailed it as supporting informed vaccine choice by parents, who they say have been abandoned and marginalized by pediatricians when refusing or delaying immunizations. “True choice has not been existing in practice,” said committee member Hillary Blackburn, a doctor of pharmacy. “No child should lose their medical home because their parents are engaging in the very individually based decision making we’re encouraging.” Those who voted against the change said parents always have the final say in what vaccines their children receive, and that the new recommendations lacked scientific evidence and will result in children suffering needless i