The Vaccine Guardrails Are Gone

"His handpicked vaccine advisory committee voted today to scrap the decades-old guidance that all babies receive the hepatitis-B vaccine shortly after birth. Now the panel recommends that only children born to mothers who test positive for the infection or have unknown status automatically receive a shot at birth. Everyone else has the option of a shot at birth or-as the committee recommends-waiting until at least two months after birth."

"But in the U.S., many expectant mothers don't get tested for hepatitis B, and even if they do, those tests sometimes fail to pick up the virus. The rationale for giving the vaccine right away is to wipe out an infection that will afflict the majority of people who contract it as babies for the rest of their life (and, for as many as a quarter of those chronically infected, result in their death from cirrhosis or liver cancer)."

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s handpicked vaccine advisory committee voted to end the decades-old requirement for a universal hepatitis-B birth dose. The committee now recommends automatic vaccination only for infants born to mothers who test positive or have unknown status, while other newborns may receive a shot at birth or wait until at least two months. Supporters note similar policies in Denmark and Finland and low U.S. infection rates. Many expectant mothers remain untested and tests can miss infection, risking lifelong chronic hepatitis B and higher risk of death from cirrhosis or liver cancer. The World Health Organization and American Academy of Pediatrics endorse a universal birth dose. Kennedy replaced outside advisers with members skeptical of vaccine safety.

Read at The Atlantic