Crucial US Expert Group to Cast Ballots on Modifying Baby Hepatitis B Vaccine Advisory
Following a delay and a remarkably divisive gathering, a national immunization advisory committee was expected to vote on Friday regarding a potential change to the longstanding recommendation that all newborns be inoculated against hepatitis B.
Heated Debate and a Deferred Vote
The first day of the conference on Thursday was marked by heated debate over limiting availability to the hepatitis B vaccine for infants and a resolution to postpone the decision by a day to provide committee members extra time to examine the language. The group, which guides the CDC on vaccine use, had previously delayed on two occasions.
“Is there any concrete proof of damage of giving this immunization before 30 days? Or is this conjecture?” asked one committee member.
In response, another member stated, “There is limited evidence about the enduring danger.”
Existing Recommendations and Likely Ramifications
The injection is currently suggested for each baby within 24 hours of delivery to halt contraction of hepatitis B, which can result in serious liver damage. It has been administered to more than a billion persons for in excess of thirty years.
The meeting in Atlanta provided no new evidence of damage attributable to the vaccine. Experts say any alteration to the existing hepatitis B vaccination schedule could have profound and widespread consequences for childhood health in the United States.
Committee Makeup and Recent Changes
The consultative group can only provide advice to the leader of the CDC. The panel's membership has undergone changes this week, with the declaration that the panel's latest chairman would step down for an formal position and be substituted with a cardiologist who has been questioning of other immunizations.
The panel includes a number of vaccine skeptics who align with a aim to revamp – and potentially, in some cases, eliminate – traditional vaccine advisories.
