ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – In a historic vote, CDC advisers have voted to overturn a decades-long policy on the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns.
If approved by the CDC’s acting director, this would reverse a universal recommendation to start the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth, which has been a practice in the US for 30 years and is credited with dramatically lowering liver diseases caused by the virus.The CDC panel suggests women who test negative for hepatitis B should decide with their doctor whether their baby should get a birth dose of the vaccine. The group also suggests waiting until two months of age for the first dose, if the vaccine is not given at birth. Earlier this week, Dr. Sarah Collins-McGowan of URMC and Golisano Children’s Hospital spoke to News 8’s Brennan Somers about the vaccine’s effectiveness, and why the medical community supports keeping the policy in place.“One of the ways we’ve tried to reduce the number of children getting this chronic infection is by starting the vaccine right at birth. That recommendation has been part of the CDC’s recommendation since 1991. During that time, we’ve gone from having about 16,000 cases of hepatitis B infants and children a year to now less than 20. So, it’s been very successful. That is a major reason why we’re hoping to continue that recommendation to keep giving the Hepatitis B vaccine at birth,” said Dr. Collins-McGowan. There is no cure for hepatitis B. Since this is a recommendation, there are no mandates on the vaccine. However, researchers say the change is likely to increase the number of people who develop these infections.
The New York State Department of Health reaffirmed Friday that state recommendations for families remain unchanged despite the panel’s vote…