The agency adopted advice from its vaccine advisory panel.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer recommends that all newborns receive a dose of the hepatitis B vaccine soon after birth.
The CDC on Dec. 16 announced it adopted advice from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a panel of independent experts that on Dec. 5 said officials should only recommend hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of birth for infants of women who tested positive, or did not undergo a test, for hepatitis B.
“This recommendation reflects ACIP’s rigorous review of the available evidence,” Jim O’Neil, acting CDC director and deputy secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement. “We are restoring the balance of informed consent to parents whose newborns face little risk of contracting hepatitis B.”
The CDC had previously recommended that all newborns in stable condition receive an early dose of a hepatitis B vaccine. The agency has credited the universal early dose with reducing the rates of hepatitis B in the country, although a CDC contractor told ACIP during the recent meeting that data indicated that other changes, such as increased blood screening for infected people, were the largest drivers of the reductions.
The department said in a fact sheet the change reflects how there is a low incidence of transmission of hepatitis B from pregnant women “due to existing prevention systems.” It also stated that pregnant women should get tested for hepatitis B, that the test is covered by insurers, and that infants born to women who have a positive or unknown hepatitis B status should receive a hepatitis B vaccine dose in addition to hepatitis B immune globulin shortly after birth.
For babies born to women who test negative for hepatitis B, parents and doctors should take into account the risks of infection as well as the benefits and risks of vaccination when deciding when or if to give the vaccine, the CDC now says. If they decide to proceed with vaccination, the initial dose should be administered no earlier than 2 months of age.
The CDC still recommends additional doses of the hepatitis B vaccine.
