Kennedy’s vaccine advisory committee meets to discuss hepatitis B shots for newborns

A federal vaccine advisory committee convened Thursday in Atlanta to discuss whether newborns should still get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they re born For decades the governing body has advised that all babies be vaccinated against the liver infection right after birth The shots are widely considered to be a inhabitants healthcare success for preventing thousands of illnesses But U S Medical Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr s committee is considering whether to recommend the birth dose only for babies whose mothers test positive which would mark a return to a masses vitality strategy that was abandoned more than three decades ago For other babies it will be up to the parents and their doctors to decide if a birth dose is appropriate Committee member Vicky Pebsworth announced a work group was tasked in September with evaluating whether a birth dose is necessary when mothers tested negative for hepatitis B We need to address stakeholder and parent dissatisfaction with the current recommendation she mentioned The committee makes recommendations to the director of the Centers for Ailment Control and Prevention on how already approved vaccines should be used CDC directors almost dependably adopted the committee s recommendations which were widely heeded by doctors and guide vaccination programs But the agency at this moment has no director leaving acting director Jim O Neill to decide Kennedy a leading anti-vaccine activist before he became the nation s top medical official fired the entire -member panel earlier this year and replaced it with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices The panel has made several decisions that angered major biological groups At a June meeting it recommended that a preservative called thimerosal be removed from doses of flu vaccine even though various members acknowledged there was no proof it was causing harm In September it recommended new restrictions on a combination shot that protects against chickenpox measles mumps and rubella The panel also took the unprecedented step of not recommending COVID- vaccinations even for high-risk populations such as seniors and instead making it a matter of personal choice Several doctors groups commented the changes were not based on good evidence and advised doctors and patients to follow guidance that was previously in place Hepatitis B is a serious liver infection that for largest part people lasts less than six months But for specific especially infants and children it can become a long-lasting predicament that can lead to liver failure liver cancer and scarring called cirrhosis In adults the virus is spread through sex or through sharing needles during injection drug use But it can also be passed from an infected mother to a baby As several as of infants who contract hepatitis B go on to have chronic infections meaning their immune systems don t absolutely clear the virus In the committee recommended an initial dose of hepatitis B vaccine at birth Over about years cases among children fell from about per year to about But members of Kennedy s committee have voiced discomfort with vaccinating all newborns Cynthia Nevison an autism and environmental researcher presented at the meeting Nevison has written opinion pieces published by Children s Soundness Defense an anti-vaccine advocacy organization Kennedy previously led She also co-authored a article in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders that the publication retracted after concerns were raised about the paper s methodology and about nondisclosed ties between the authors and anti-vaccine groups Another presenter was Mark Blaxill a co-author of the retracted paper who spoke about vaccine safety In the past committee meetings have relied on presentations by the CDC scientists involved in tracking vaccine-preventable diseases and assessing vaccine safety The agenda for this meeting listed no CDC scientists but rather featured a prolonged citizens airing of anti-vaccine theories that majority scientists have deemed as discredited Kennedy is a lawyer by training Aaron Siri a lawyer who worked with Kennedy to sue vaccine makers is listed as a presenter on Friday on the topic of the immunization schedule for U S children The current guidance advises a dose within hours of birth for all medically stable infants who weigh at least pounds kilograms plus follow-up shots to be given at about month and months The committee is expected to vote on language that says when a family decides not to get a birth dose then the vaccination series should begin when the child is months old