Experts appointed by the United States Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, decided this Friday to stop recommending the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns.
With eight votes in favor and three against, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) made this decision despite the dissenting opinion of many doctors.
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Federal authorities must comply with this provision, which will end the country’s prevention policy that was in force for more than 30 years, in which the vaccine was recommended at the time of birth in case the mother did not know that she had hepatitis B.
The disease was eradicated in young people in the United States through this practice.
New directives
According to the new directive, the administration of a first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, out of three in total, in the first minutes of life will only be recommended to newborns whose mother has been diagnosed with said disease.
On his social network Truth Social, Donald Trump described the measure as “a very good decision.”
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However, the measure received harsh criticism from medical associations.
“This irresponsible and deliberately misleading recommendation will lead to more hepatitis B infections in infants and children,” Susan J. Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in a statement.
Three members of the panel also opposed the measure, pointing out the absence of elements that justify any benefit from the change.