A panel of experts selected by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Dec. 5 voted to recommend federal officials stop directing parents to get their infants quickly vaccinated against hepatitis B, unless the babies’ mothers test positive for the virus.
A majority of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is overseen by Kennedy, should update its recommendations for hepatitis B vaccination because the safety and effectiveness data for the current recommendations are inadequate.
“What we are trying to here is to go back to basic, good public health policy that is based on risk, that is based on informed consent and individual decision-making, when parents can think about the assessment of the risk and the benefits and make a decision,” Retsef Levi, one of the members, said ahead of the vote….