Amid federal pushback on a long-standing hepatitis B vaccine recommendation, local health experts still urge all newborns get the vaccine to prevent chronic infection.
The Centers for Disease and Control Panel recently voted to remove a decades-long recommendation to administer the hepatitis B vaccine to newborns, despite evidence demonstrating the vaccine’s efficacy. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices now recommends that mothers who tested negative for the virus should talk with their doctor before deciding whether to immunize their baby. If the vaccine is not given at birth, families should wait at least two months to administer the vaccine.
Recommended since 1991, the hepatitis B vaccine is normally given to newborns within 24 hours of birth; it protects against the virus that attacks the liver and can be deadly. When given within 24 hours of birth, the hepatitis B vaccine is up to 90 percent effective in preventing perinatal infection. Since 1991, hepatitis B infections in children and teens have decreased 99 percent.
While cases in Indiana have remained relatively stable the last few years, Shandy Dearth, director of the Center for Public Health Practice at Indiana University Indianapolis, said hepatitis B is still extremely contagious, spreading through contact with infected blood and bodily fluids. The virus can live on surfaces for up to seven days. The CDC estimates that about 640,000 adults in the country have chronic hepatitis B, but many aren’t aware they have it.
Dearth says children are the most vulnerable.
“A baby touches all of these surfaces,” she said. “Babies put everything in their mouth, and I just don't think they [people] realize the transmission risk and what it can do for someone.”
About 90 percent of infants infected at birth develop chronic hepatitis B. Among these, 25 percent will die prematurely from the disease. That’s why Dearth still recommends all newborns get the vaccine.
“Giving that birth dose is really important,” Dearth said. “You've got the baby in the hospital; the mom doesn't have to bring the baby back for a visit for that. So, you're making sure that child is protected from the time they leave the hospital, so when they go home, if they're around grandparents, any other family members, anyone else who might not know they have hepatitis B, the baby is protected. So, there's absolutely no reason to put off giving the baby that first dose.”
Dearth is concerned this reversal on the long-standing recommendation, as well as all the misinformation circulating about the efficacy of vaccines in general, will discourage people from getting the vaccine.
"I think it just leads to a lot of confusion, because for decades, we've said, ‘follow the CDC guidance,’” she said. “Now suddenly, the CDC is not always following the science. And so that's where you're seeing these professional associations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and others saying, do not follow the CDC regulations. You need to follow the old regulations where you give that birth dose.”
Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill, who had previously pushed for Covid-19 treatments not supported by science, will now decide whether to adopt the panel’s recommendations.
