CDC/ACIP Vaccine Policy

At a contentious Dec. 4–5 meeting, the HHS‑appointed ACIP voted 8–3 to end the longstanding universal hepatitis B birth‑dose recommendation — instead advising a birth dose for infants of HBV‑positive mothers while leaving administration for infants of HBV‑negative or unknown mothers to parent‑clinician decision or delayed dosing — and separately voted 6–4‑1 to recommend post‑vaccination antibody testing to determine whether fewer than three doses are needed. The recommendations, which must be approved by acting CDC director Jim O’Neill, have drawn sharp criticism from pediatric and infectious‑disease experts who warn that screening gaps and modeling estimates (roughly 1,400–2,700 excess infections annually) make rescinding the universal birth dose risky.