CHICAGO (WLS) – A pediatrician at Rush Children’s Hospital is voicing serious concerns after a panel recommended changes to hepatitis B immunization guidelines for newborns. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 8-to-3 to base vaccine recommendations on a mother’s hepatitis B testing status, a move critics fear will put infants at risk.
The proposal allows parents to decide, with a doctor’s guidance, whether to vaccinate their newborn if the mother tests negative for hepatitis B. Vaccination would continue if the mother tests positive or has an unknown status.
“And so they’re gonna put babies at risk of getting a life-altering illness,” said Dr.Margaret Scotellaro, with Rush Children’s Hospital.
The decision follows the dismissal of the ACIP’s 17 sitting members earlier this year by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has publicly opposed certain vaccines. The current panel was handpicked by Kennedy Jr.
ACIP member Hillary Blackburn stated, “The language offers flexibility, access, coverage at any time. I vote yes.”
Hepatitis B is a highly infectious viral liver infection that can lead to chronic disease in children and infants. Dr. Scotellaro warns the new policy could have broader implications.
“The problem is the infants that do get hepatitis B easier in that situation or they didn’t know that someone in the family is a carrier of the illness, and so parents think they’re making decision for their individual case, not thinking that they could be one of those other people who felt the same way. The wider implication is that this is eroding people’s confidence in vaccines are safe and effective,” she said.
Insurance coverage is not expected to be affected by the change. However, illinois may not see a significant impact, as Governor J.B. Pritzker recently signed a law directing the state’s public health department to establish its own vaccine guidelines.
The committee is expected to address recommendations for older children and broader vaccine policy in the near future.