Hepatitis B vaccine shift may not be last change in childhood schedule

Hours after a federal panel said it’s no longer recommending the hepatitis B vaccine for all babies, drawing widespread criticism from doctors and healthcare leaders, President Trump indicated more changes to the childhood vaccine schedule could be coming.

Trump issued an order directing Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to review the practices of vaccinations in other peer countries. The White House also pointed to the U.S. recommending more childhood vaccines than Denmark.

In a post on Truth Social Friday night, Trump wrote that the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule calls for “far more than any other Country in the World, and far more than is necessary. In fact, it is ridiculous! Many parents and scientists have been questioning the efficacy of this ‘schedule,’ as have I!”

Medical societies and public health leaders have dreaded the prospect of changes in the childhood vaccine schedule with Kennedy, a longtime vaccine critic, leading the health department. Now, those fears are being realized.

Parents will still be able to get the hepatitis B vaccine if they choose, but the advisory panel says is not recommending it for all children. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said the vaccine is recommended for children born to mothers who test positive for hepatitis B. Otherwise, the panel said parents should discuss it with their doctors, and also said the vaccine shouldn’t be administered until two months of age.

Dozens of groups representing doctors and doctors denounced the change in guidance and some states said they would continue to recommend all babies get the hepatitis B vaccine. They also implored the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reject the committee’s recommendation.

‘Purposely misleading guidance’

The American Academy of Pediatrics continues to recommend the hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns. Susan J. Kressly, MD, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the federal panel’s guidance goes beyond bad advice and is designed to erode confidence in vaccines.

“This irresponsible and purposely misleading guidance will lead to more hepatitis B infections in infants and children,” Kressly said in a statement.

“I want to reassure parents and clinicians that there is no new or concerning information about the hepatitis B vaccine that is prompting this change, nor has children’s risk of contracting hepatitis B changed,” Instead, this is the result of a deliberate strategy to sow fear and distrust among families.”

Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD, a trustee of the American Medical Association, said the federal committee’s recommendations are “reckless” and said the hepatitis B vaccine is “a proven, lifesaving vaccine.”

Fryhofer said in a statement that the “action is not based on scientific evidence, disregards data supporting the effectiveness of the Hepatitis B vaccine, and creates confusion for parents about how best to protect their newborns.”

Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association, calls the hepatitis B vaccine “one of the great success stories in public health.

“Nurses have witnessed firsthand the power of prevention,” Mensik Kennedy said. “As the most trusted profession, we have both an ethical and professional obligation to advocate for evidence-based immunization practices that protect the most vulnerable. Especially newborns, who depend on us to keep them safe."

‘Decision creates confusion’

The American Academy of Family Physicians warns that removing the universal recommendation for hepatitis B vaccines could lead to thousands of chronic infections, along with complications such as liver cancer and deaths.

Georges C. Benjamin, MD, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said the committee didn’t consider scientific evidence or the consequences of fewer people getting the hepatitis B vaccine.

“As a committee tasked with giving guidance to practitioners on the front lines of improving the health of all communities, this decision creates confusion instead of the needed evidence-based roadmap for families to make informed decisions about their child’s health,” he said in a statement. “The current vaccination schedule is doing what it is supposed to, which is taking a preventative approach to minimize infection and exposure to a dangerous infectious disease.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, who is a liver doctor, also criticized the vaccine panel’s recommendation.

“As a liver doctor who has treated patients with hepatitis B for decades, this change to the vaccine schedule is a mistake,” Cassidy, the chairman of the Senate Health Committee, wrote in a post on X. “The hepatitis B vaccine is safe and effective.”

“Before the birth dose was recommended, 20,000 newborns a year were infected with hepatitis B,” Cassidy wrote. “Now, it’s fewer than 20. Ending the recommendation for newborns makes it more likely the number of cases will begin to increase again. This makes America sicker.”

Medical societies have routinely criticized changes in federal vaccine policies and guidance since Kennedy took over the health department earlier this year. Health leaders lambasted the CDC for changing its website to suggest the possibility of ties between vaccines and autism

Six former surgeons general cited changes in vaccine policy and guidance as they warned that Kennedy’s actions “are endangering the health of the nation.”

Under Kennedy, the government has said COVID-19 vaccines aren’t recommended for healthy adults. Kennedy has also canceled $500 million in mRNA vaccine projects and changed COVID-19 vaccine guidance for pregnant women and kids.

Kennedy also fired all the members of the vaccine advisory panel that shifted guidance on the hepatitis B vaccine. Critics say he has stacked the panel with vaccine skeptics and those who are less qualified than members who were ousted.