Key US Panel to Cast Ballots on Altering Baby Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendation
Following a postponement and an unusually contentious session, a national immunization advisory committee was set to cast ballots on Friday regarding a potential change to the enduring advisory that every infant be vaccinated against hepatitis B.
Fiery Exchange and a Postponed Decision
The opening session of the meeting on Thursday was marked by heated debate over limiting availability to the hepatitis B vaccine for infants and a decision to defer the vote by a day to provide committee members extra time to examine the language. The committee, which counsels the national health agency on vaccine use, had twice before postponed.
“Is there any definitive data of injury of giving this immunization before 30 days? Or is this speculation?” asked one committee member.
In reply, another member stated, “There is limited evidence about the long-term risk.”
Present Protocol and Potential Impact
The vaccine is currently recommended for each baby within 24 hours of being born to prevent infection of hepatitis B, which can cause major damage to the liver. It has been administered to over a billion individuals for over thirty years.
The Atlanta conference offered no new evidence of damage attributable to the vaccine. Specialists note any alteration to the existing hepatitis B vaccine regimen could have profound and widespread implications for childhood health in the United States.
Committee Makeup and Latest Shifts
The expert committee can only make recommendations to the head of the CDC. The committee's composition has seen shifts this week, with the declaration that the panel's latest chairman would step down for an formal position and be substituted with a heart specialist who has been questioning of other inoculations.
The panel includes multiple vaccine skeptics who support a desire to overhaul – and potentially, in some cases, abolish – long-established vaccination recommendations.
