Key US Advisory Committee to Cast Ballots on Changing Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccine Advisory
Following a delay and an unusually contentious gathering, a national immunization advisory committee was set to cast ballots on Friday regarding a potential change to the longstanding recommendation that every infant be immunized against hepatitis B.
Heated Debate and a Delayed Ballot
The opening session of the assembly on Thursday was marked by intense argument over limiting availability to the hepatitis B vaccine for infants and a resolution to delay the ballot by a day to provide committee members extra time to scrutinize the phrasing. The group, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine use, had put off the vote twice in the past.
“Is there any concrete proof of harm of giving this shot before 30 days? Or is this speculation?” asked one panel member.
In answer, another member stated, “There is inadequate data about the long-term risk.”
Present Protocol and Likely Ramifications
The shot is presently advised for each baby within 24 hours of being born to prevent infection of hepatitis B, which can result in major damage to the liver. It has been given to more than a billion persons for more than three decades.
The Georgia assembly provided no fresh data of damage attributable to the vaccine. Specialists note any alteration to the current hepatitis B vaccine regimen could have major and extensive consequences for childhood health in the United States.
Group Membership and Recent Changes
The advisory panel can only provide advice to the director of the CDC. The committee's composition has experienced alterations recently, with the statement that the committee’s most recent chair would step down for an agency job and be replaced by a cardiac doctor who has been critical of other immunizations.
The board includes a number of vaccine skeptics who align with a goal to reform – and possibly, in some cases, scrap – longstanding vaccine advisories.