Key US Expert Group to Decide on Modifying Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccine Advisory
Following a hold-up and a particularly heated meeting, a government vaccine expert group was set to cast ballots on Friday concerning altering the longstanding recommendation that every infant be immunized against hepatitis B.
Fiery Exchange and a Postponed Decision
The first day of the assembly on Thursday was defined by fiery discussion over restricting access to the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns and a resolution to defer the vote by a day to allow panelists additional time to scrutinize the phrasing. The committee, which counsels the CDC on vaccine use, had twice before postponed.
“Is there any concrete proof of harm of giving this immunization before 30 days? Or is this theory?” questioned one panel member.
In response, another member stated, “There is scant proof about the enduring danger.”
Existing Recommendations and Likely Ramifications
The shot is currently recommended for every newborn within 24 hours of being born to prevent infection of hepatitis B, which can cause major damage to the liver. It has been administered to more than a billion persons for more than three decades.
The meeting in Atlanta offered no recent proof of harms caused by the vaccine. Experts say any change to the present hepatitis B immunization timeline could have major and extensive consequences for infant and child health in the United States.
Group Membership and Latest Shifts
The consultative group can only make recommendations to the director of the CDC. The committee's composition has undergone changes in recent days, with the declaration that the committee’s most recent chair would leave for an agency job and be substituted with a cardiologist who has been questioning of other vaccines.
The board includes multiple immunization doubters who are in agreement with a desire to overhaul – and perhaps, in some cases, abolish – long-established vaccination recommendations.
