BALTIMORE —

CDC advisers on Friday decided to stop recommending the Hepatitis-B vaccination to all newborns.

Instead, they recommend parents decide when — or if — their children should get the vaccine.

For babies who don't get the vaccine at birth, the panel recommends waiting until the babies are at least two months old to administer it.

The Hep-B rate for children is currently less than 1%, but a pediatrician at Mercy Medical Center said the change in recommendation could erase decades of progress.

"In the 1980s, we had a pick-and-choose for which babies would be best to get this vaccine approach, and it was ineffective. As such, in the 1990s, we made a decision that universally, every child should get a Hepatitis-B vaccine. Surprisingly, we saw that was very effective," said Dr.

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