More than 40 leading medical, health and patient advocacy organizations have issued a joint statement sharply criticizing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) following its December 5 vote to eliminate the universal recommendation for hepatitis B vaccination at birth.
The unprecedented statement, signed by organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, Infectious Diseases Society of America, and March of Dimes, declares that the medical community is “deeply alarmed” by ACIP’s actions this week.
In an 8-3 vote, ACIP voted to recommend “individual-based decision-making” for hepatitis B vaccination in newborns whose mothers test negative for the virus, ending a universal birth dose recommendation that has been in place since 1991. The new guidance suggests parents consult with healthcare providers about whether to administer the vaccine at birth, and recommends waiting until at least two months of age for infants who do not receive the birth dose.
This guidance is a departure from more than three decades of public health policy. Since the universal birth dose was implemented in 1991, annual hepatitis B infections among infants and children have plummeted 99%, from approximately 16,000 to 18,000 cases per year to fewer than 20.
The joint statement emphasizes that “no new data was presented during the ACIP meeting to justify this change”. Medical organizations point out that the hepatitis B birth dose has prevented more than 500,000 childhood infections and an estimated 90,100 childhood deaths since 1994.
“ACIP’s actions will harm children, their families and the medical professionals who care for them. That is why we are joining together to speak up,” the statement reads. “American families deserve information grounded in science and clear, consistent guidance – not speculation intended to scare them. We urge the CDC leaders to reject ACIP’s new recommendation and instead retain the current, evidence-based approach.”
All current ACIP members were appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dismissed the panel’s 17 previous members in June 2025. Kennedy, founder of the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, has falsely claimed the hepatitis B vaccine was a “likely culprit” in autism.
Several of the newly appointed members have expressed skepticism about vaccines or have been associated with spreading vaccine misinformation. These include Dr. Robert Malone, known for disseminating misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, and Retsef Levi, an MIT operations management professor with no medical training who strongly argued against the universal birth dose during the meeting.
Hepatitis B is an incurable viral infection that attacks the liver and can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and early death. An estimated 90% of babies infected in infancy develop chronic hepatitis B infection, and approximately one in four who become chronically infected will die from the disease. About 16% of expecting mothers do not get tested for hepatitis B during pregnancy, according to the CDC.
Research analyzing the potential impact of delaying the birth dose found it could lead to at least 1,400 preventable hepatitis B infections among children each year, 300 additional cases of liver cancer, 480 preventable deaths, and over $222 million in excess healthcare costs annually.
Multiple states have already announced they will not follow ACIP’s new recommendation. Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, California and Washington have all stated they will maintain the current recommendation for universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth.
“The current guidance in Illinois remains unchanged. Earlier this fall, the Illinois Department of Public Health adopted the CDC immunization schedules as revised on August 7, 2025, which continue to recommend hepatitis B vaccination for all newborns. The Illinois Immunization Advisory Committee will also convene on December 16 to review the latest ACIP recommendation,” a statement from IDPH said.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician whose medical practice focused on hepatitis B and who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, called the change “a mistake” and urged acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill to reject ACIP’s vote.
ACIP’s recommendations must be formally adopted by the CDC director before becoming part of the official CDC immunization schedule. Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill said in a statement that he believed the public “benefited from the committee’s well-informed, rigorous discussion”.
Federal agencies and private insurers are expected to continue covering the hepatitis B vaccine under current policies, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. However, medical experts warn that weakening the recommendation could lead to confusion and declining vaccination rates.
