Crucial US Expert Group to Decide on Altering Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccine Advisory
Following a postponement and a remarkably divisive session, a federal vaccine advisory panel was scheduled to decide on Friday on whether to change the long-held guideline that each baby be immunized against hepatitis B.
Heated Debate and a Deferred Vote
The opening session of the assembly on Thursday was characterized by intense argument over curbing eligibility to the hepatitis B vaccine for babies and a choice to delay the ballot by a day to give members more time to examine the language. The committee, which counsels the national health agency on immunization practices, had twice before postponed.
“Is there any concrete proof of injury of giving this immunization before 30 days? Or is this speculation?” questioned one adviser.
In answer, another attendee stated, “There is inadequate data about the prolonged hazard.”
Present Protocol and Likely Ramifications
The vaccine is presently advised for each baby within 24 hours of birth to prevent infection of hepatitis B, which can cause serious liver damage. It has been given to over a billion individuals for more than three decades.
The Georgia assembly offered no new evidence of injuries resulting from the vaccine. Experts say any alteration to the present hepatitis B immunization timeline could have major and extensive implications for infant and child health in the United States.
Committee Makeup and New Appointments
The expert committee can only make recommendations to the director of the CDC. The panel's membership has seen shifts recently, with the announcement that the committee’s most recent chair would step down for an formal position and be replaced by a cardiac doctor who has been critical of other vaccines.
The board includes a number of vaccine skeptics who align with a desire to overhaul – and potentially, in some cases, eliminate – traditional immunization guidelines.
