ORLANDO, Fla. – A powerful federal advisory panel is meeting Thursday and Friday to consider some of the most significant changes to the childhood vaccine schedule in decades, including whether to delay the Hepatitis B shot routinely given to newborns.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is expected to hear its first update from a new working group tasked with reviewing more than 30 recommended vaccine doses administered throughout childhood.
Supporters of the current schedule say the birth dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine has dramatically reduced infections in young children.
“We’ve decreased chronic hepatitis B by 20,000 people over two decades with this recommendation… the vaccine is safe,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said this week. “This is policy by people who don’t understand the epidemiology of hepatitis B.”
The possible changes come amid broader national debate, including from President Donald Trump, who questioned the need for giving the vaccine at birth.
“Hepatitis B is sexually transmitted. There’s no reason to give a baby that’s just born Hepatitis B,” Trump said in comments last fall.
The federal review is unfolding as Florida leaders push to eliminate all childhood vaccine mandates statewide, arguing vaccination decisions should belong to parents. Health officials warn the move could increase the risk of outbreaks of diseases like measles, mumps and whooping cough.
“That freedom to choose not to get the vaccine is potentially hurting the rest of that classroom as well,” Jacksonville Chief Health Officer Dr. Sunil Joshi said.
Thursday’s CDC meeting is expected to be closely watched, with potential recommendations coming as early as Friday.
The panel is also expected to examine how children are inoculated against more than a dozen other infectious diseases. News 6 will provide updates as decisions are made.