Washington Post Federal vaccine advisers to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voted in December to recommend delaying the first shot until at least two months of age for infants born to mothers who test negative for the virus. The Trump administration’s decision to drop the long-standing recommendation that newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth will likely lead to hundreds of additional infections among children, along with more cases of liver cancer, deaths and millions in added health care costs, according to studies published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.
Federal vaccine advisers to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voted in December to replace the universal birth dose with a recommendation to delay the first shot until at least two months of age for infants born to mothers who test negative for the virus. The change was later approved by the then-acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a political appointee and top deputy to Kennedy who did not have a public health background.