The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has thrown out the recommendation for a universal birth hepatitis B vaccine dose and replaced it with the position that the first hepatitis B vaccine should be delayed until two months of age for infants born to mothers who test negative for the virus. Parents, in consultation with their health care provider, can still decide when or if their child will begin the hepatitis B vaccine series. Read the CDC press release here.
For infants born to mothers who test positive for hepatitis B or whose status is unknown, the currently recommended birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine continues with no change.
The change reflects recommendations recently approved by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
The CDC says “consistency of coverage” of the hepatitis B vaccine will be maintained through all payment mechanisms, including the Vaccines for Children Program, CHIP, Medicaid, and Medicare, as well as insurance plans through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace.
The CDC is still reviewing ACIP’s recommendation that subsequent vaccine doses should be evaluated after anti-HBs serology testing.
Following the ACIP vote in December, ASGE joined a statement led by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases calling on the Trump Administration to uphold the birth dose for all infants.