The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stopped recommending that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, marking a significant shift in a policy that has been in place for decades. The change followed a vote by members at a Dec. 5, 2025 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which reviews CDC vaccine recommendations and reflects updated assessments of risk, transmission, and public health priorities. Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill formally approved the change, completing the process required to adopt it as agency policy. He said, “We are restoring the balance of informed consent to parents whose newborns face little risk of contracting hepatitis B.”1
Under the new guidance, the CDC will recommend hepatitis B vaccination at birth only for infants born to mothers who test positive for the virus or whose hepatitis B status is unknown at the time of delivery.2 Babies born to mothers who test negative will not receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth and will instead receive it later in infancy if the parents consent to it, with the CDC recommending vaccination not before two months of age as part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule.3
CDC officials said improved prenatal screening and lower rates of hepatitis B in the United States played a role in the decision to revise the recommendation. According to the agency, nearly all pregnant women now receive hepatitis B testing during pregnancy, allowing clinicians to identify infants who face the highest risk at birth.4
ACIP’s Rationale Behind the CDC’s Hepatitis B Vaccine Update
The ACIP voted 8–3 to recommend hepatitis B vaccination at birth only for infants born to mothers who test positive for the virus or whose hepatitis B status is unknown. The committee said the recommendation reflects a shift toward a more targeted approach based on current screening practices and risk assessment. Under the guidance, mothers who test negative are advised to discuss vaccination timing with their health care providers.5
Committee members said the updated recommendation builds on decades of progress in reducing hepatitis B infections among children while accounting for widespread prenatal screening that now identifies nearly all cases of maternal infection. ACIP members emphasized that focusing the birth dose on higher-risk situations preserves protection while avoiding unnecessary interventions for infants at lower risk.6
During the meeting, some medical trade group representatives raised concerns about changing the long-standing universal birth dose policy; however, ACIP members maintained that the revised approach reflects current evidence and improved screening practices rather than a reduction in safety standards. The committee framed the change as an adjustment based on evolving public health conditions, not a reversal of prior success.7
The committee also voted on a separate recommendation related to the number of hepatitis B doses infants receive. Under the traditional schedule, children typically receive three doses, with the first dose at birth, a second dose one to three months later, and a third dose between six and 15 months of age. In a second vote, ACIP approved a recommendation, by a 6–4 margin with one abstention, to test infants’ antibody levels after each hepatitis B dose. Committee members said the approach allows clinicians to confirm immunity and tailor vaccination to individual needs. Under the recommendation, some children may require fewer than three doses if testing shows they have already developed adequate protection.8
The ACIP subgroup that reviewed the hepatitis B policy was led by voting member Vicky Pebsworth, RN, PhD, a nurse and board member of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), an organization founded in 1982 that supports informed consent to medical risk taking and opposed the hepatitis B birth dose recommendation when it was instituted in 1991.9
Pebsworth said the United States’ universal hepatitis B birth dose policy stands apart from approaches used in other countries with low rates of hepatitis B and argued that a number of parent stakeholder groups favor greater flexibility. She said those groups want informed consent rights respected and more discretion in deciding vaccination timing based on the individual and family circumstances.10
If you would like to receive an e-mail notice of the most recent articles published in The Vaccine Reaction each week, click here.
Click here to view References:1 Dendix A. CDC formally stops recommending hepatitis B vaccines for all newborns. NBC News Dec. 16, 2025.
2 Ibid.
3 Weixel N. CDC adopts controversial hepatitis B vaccine change. The Hill Dec. 17, 2025.
4 Huang P, Stein R, Wroth C. CDC advisers vote to overturn decades-long policy on hepatitis B vaccine for infants. NPR Dec. 5, 2025..
5 Ibid.
6 Huang P, Stein R, Wroth C. CDC advisers vote to overturn decades-long policy on hepatitis B vaccine for infants. NPR Dec. 5, 2025.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Fisher BL. The Battle Over Injecting Hepatitis B Vaccine Into Babies on the First Day After Birth. The Vaccine Reaction Sept. 25, 2025.
10 Becker Z. CDC’s ACIP votes to change longstanding hepatitis B vaccine guidance for newborns, prompting backlash. Fierce Pharma Dec. 5, 2025.
10 Responses
This vaccine is totally unnecessary, thus the question as to why. The only reasons could be . . . experimentation or the act of causing damage to a newborn thus setting them up to be a future “cash cow”.
Correct! The nurse told me when I had my son in 1993. I had to give it to him and I was dumb enough to not know any better. I didn’t know until it was time for his first round of vaccinations that the ear aches, the stomach issues and the hell I went through for the first six months of his life. We’re all reactions to the HEP B vaccination, he received at birth. I felt like the worst mother ever and he was my first baby and my only baby. There was no way I was going through this again. That nurse that informed me about this, she was the best she was an older nurse, and she said, be weary of all the vaccinations are trying to push on your baby and you I’ve never forgotten her. Her and I broke up his vaccines into several visits. I’m sure nowadays you wouldn’t be able to do that but this was 32 years ago.
The end of paragraph 3 uses the words “all pregnant people” which sounded very strange to me. How about “all pregnant women”?
This decision by ACIP is moving things in the right direction, but the risk of harm to infants, especially from the high aluminum content of the Hep B vaccine, should be publicized and emphasized to parents, caregivers, and providers. There is no reason to poison children with this vaccine unless, perhaps, the mother is Hep B positive.
I still do not agree with starting at 2mos. of age. My children were not sexually active nor IV drug users as infants! My partner and I were 10yrs. monogamous and neither of us ever had hepB. Our children and most others are not at risk.
This should be Common Sense, it’s so infuriating. It’s as if these willfully ignorant White-Coats are in complete denial that the Hept. B Vaccine is dangerous, toxic and there’s absolutely no risk or harm giving it to a baby, let alone a premature baby.
The amount of aluminium in those shot 250mcg, is the recommended safe dose for about a 110lb child per the FDA’s own parenteral feeding, yet the FDA IGNORES it’s own safety science to satisfy the sacred cow of the Vaccine Gods.
People should be prosecuted. Period.
I didn’t think I’d ever get to witness a change that truly provides for the health of children instead of mandating anything to make money. Hallelujah, I can’t wait for more changes that prioritize health and well-being over profit.
How many decades did that take?
They’re still going to destroy immune systems.
Just at a slower pace.
Progress?
Of course they are backing off is that they have destroyed an entire generation of children. It was the plan all along. But don’t count t on anyone stepping in to help the countless babies (now adults) whose lives were severely altered by this untested and completely unnecessary kill shot
In response to Blax above, you had a very mature 2 year old. Most 2 year olds are running the streets, shooting up with needles and engaging in various sexual activity. Obviously you and your husband are good parents!
I refused all vaccines at birth for my son and they thought I was nuts. Thanks to an angel I worked with when I was pregnant, she advised me to do my research before consenting to vaccines. I was blown away about the things I learned. It wasn’t easy finding a pediatrician, some of them refused to see me, but then I was blessed to find an MD who practiced holistically. My son is now 26 and has never had any vaccines. Other than having asthma when he was younger (and no longer has) he has been pretty much healthy.