Crucial US Panel to Vote on Modifying Infant Hepatitis B Vaccine Guideline
Following a postponement and a particularly heated session, a national immunization advisory committee was expected to vote on Friday regarding a potential change to the long-held guideline that all newborns be inoculated against hepatitis B.
Intense Discussion and a Postponed Decision
The first day of the conference on Thursday was marked by intense argument over limiting availability to the hepatitis B vaccine for babies and a decision to postpone the decision by a day to give members more time to examine the language. The committee, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine use, had twice before postponed.
“Is there any specific evidence of harm of giving this shot before 30 days? Or is this theory?” questioned one panel member.
In answer, another participant stated, “There is inadequate data about the long-term risk.”
Present Protocol and Possible Consequences
The shot is currently recommended for each baby within 24 hours of birth to halt contraction of hepatitis B, which can result in serious liver damage. It has been given to more than a billion persons for more than three decades.
The Georgia assembly provided no fresh data of injuries resulting from the vaccine. Experts say any change to the present hepatitis B immunization timeline could have profound and widespread consequences for childhood health in the United States.
Committee Makeup and New Appointments
The consultative group can only provide advice to the director of the CDC. The committee's composition has undergone changes in recent days, with the statement that the committee’s most recent chair would depart for an formal position and be succeeded by a cardiologist who has been questioning of other vaccines.
The board includes several immunization doubters who are in agreement with a aim to revamp – and possibly, in some cases, abolish – traditional vaccine advisories.
