Major US Advisory Committee to Decide on Modifying Infant Hepatitis B Vaccine Guideline
Following a hold-up and an unusually contentious meeting, a national immunization advisory committee was set to cast ballots on Friday concerning altering the enduring advisory that every infant be vaccinated against hepatitis B.
Fiery Exchange and a Delayed Ballot
The opening session of the assembly on Thursday was marked by fiery discussion over limiting availability to the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns and a resolution to defer the vote by a day to provide committee members extra time to scrutinize the phrasing. The group, which advises the CDC on immunization practices, had put off the vote twice in the past.
“Is there any concrete proof of injury of giving this vaccination before 30 days? Or is this speculation?” questioned one committee member.
In reply, another participant stated, “There is scant proof about the long-term risk.”
Present Protocol and Possible Consequences
The vaccine is currently recommended for each baby within 24 hours of birth to stop transmission of hepatitis B, which can result in serious liver damage. It has been provided to more than a billion persons for over thirty years.
The Georgia assembly presented no recent proof of damage attributable to the vaccine. Experts say any change to the existing hepatitis B vaccine regimen could have significant and far-reaching consequences for pediatric well-being in the United States.
Panel Composition and New Appointments
The advisory panel can only make recommendations to the director of the CDC. The group's roster has undergone changes recently, with the announcement that the committee’s most recent chair would step down for an agency job and be substituted with a cardiac doctor who has been critical of other inoculations.
The committee includes a number of immunization doubters who support a goal to reform – and perhaps, in some cases, abolish – long-established vaccine advisories.
