Key US Advisory Committee to Decide on Modifying Infant Hepatitis B Vaccine Advisory
Following a postponement and a particularly heated session, a government vaccine expert group was expected to vote on Friday on whether to change the enduring advisory that each baby be vaccinated against hepatitis B.
Fiery Exchange and a Delayed Ballot
The opening session of the assembly on Thursday was defined by intense argument over curbing eligibility to the hepatitis B vaccine for babies and a choice to delay the ballot by a day to provide committee members extra time to review the wording. The committee, which counsels the CDC on immunization practices, had put off the vote twice in the past.
“Is there any specific evidence of damage of giving this vaccination before 30 days? Or is this speculation?” asked one panel member.
In answer, another attendee stated, “There is inadequate data about the long-term risk.”
Present Protocol and Likely Ramifications
The injection is currently recommended for all infants within 24 hours of delivery to halt contraction of hepatitis B, which can result in significant hepatic injury. It has been given to more than a billion persons for more than three decades.
The meeting in Atlanta presented no fresh data of harms caused by the vaccine. Authorities state any alteration to the existing hepatitis B vaccine regimen could have major and extensive repercussions for infant and child health in the United States.
Group Membership and New Appointments
The consultative group can only make recommendations to the director of the CDC. The committee's composition has seen shifts recently, with the declaration that the committee’s most recent chair would leave for an formal position and be replaced by a cardiologist who has been critical of other immunizations.
The committee includes a number of immunization doubters who align with a goal to reform – and perhaps, in some cases, abolish – traditional vaccination recommendations.
