US scrutinizes Hepatitis B vaccine for newborns
Experts appointed by the Trump administration's vaccine-skeptic health secretary reviewed the routine practice of administering hepatitis B vaccines to newborns on Thursday, discussing whether the shot should be delayed.
The reorganized Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is convening for two days in Atlanta, Georgia, to follow up on a September meeting that resulted in new recommendations for Covid-19 and measles vaccinations, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
Under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, ACIP is now composed largely of figures criticized by the scientific community for lack of expertise or their promotion of vaccine-skeptic theories.
It has initiated a broad review of the safety of several vaccines, some of which have been in use for decades.
The shift led by the nation's health chief -- who has long voiced anti-vaccine rhetoric despite his lack of medical credentials -- is causing alarm in the American medical and scientific community.
Experts have warned about dropping immunization rates and the return of deadly contagious diseases like the measles, which caused several deaths in 2025.
Since 1991, U.S. health officials have recommended the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns, as is done in countries like China and Australia and is recommended by the World Health Organization.
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