Key Takeaways

A federal advisory panel voted 8 - 3 to no longer recommend automatic hepatitis B vaccine at birth

The change would apply only to newborns whose mothers test negative

Many medical experts say the decision could reverse decades of progress in preventing hepatitis B

FRIDAY, Dec. 5, 2025 (HealthDay News) — A federal vaccine advisory committee has voted to change a long-standing recommendation that all newborns in the United States receive the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they are born.

The group, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), voted 8 – 3 on Friday morning to recommend the birth dose only for newborns whose mothers test positive for hepatitis B or have not been tested during pregnancy.

For all other newborns, the decision is now left

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