Cleveland doctors raise concerns as federal panel rolls back newborn Hepatitis B vaccine policy

CLEVELAND — A federal vaccine advisory committee voted Friday to recommend ending the longstanding practice of giving all newborns the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth , a move Cleveland health officials warn could reverse decades of progress in protecting babies from a potentially deadly liver infection.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 8-3 to recommend the hepatitis B vaccine at birth only for babies whose mothers test positive for the virus or whose testing status is unknown. For all other newborns, parents would use "shared decision-making" with their doctors to decide whether and when to vaccinate.

The recommendation must still be approved by the CDC's acting director, Jim O'Neill, though Cleveland Public Health Director Dr. David Margolius sa