Who’s allowed to get the hepatitis B vaccine in the US now? | Trump administration

What happened with the hepatitis B vaccine policy?

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) group of official vaccine advisors has recommended limiting the hepatitis B vaccine, normally given at birth, in an unprecedented move.

Instead of giving all parents the option to vaccinate their newborns, advisors now recommend that parents have a conversation with a doctor to see if their newborn qualifies for vaccination.

Who is allowed to get vaccinated now?

Parents can request that their baby be vaccinated after birth and should consult a doctor about whether they should be vaccinated. After that, the vaccine should not be given until two months of age or older, advisers now suggest.

Why is this so important?

This is the first time CDC advisors have had limited access to a routine vaccination offered in decades. A few months ago, they also voted to split a combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and varicella (chickenpox) vaccine, recommending instead that the two vaccines be given separately.

What does this mean for newborns and maternal health care?

Vaccines will be more difficult to access: Hospitals may not stock enough doses if they think parents won’t ask for them, and pediatricians may be hesitant to administer the vaccine before two months of age. Discussion and confusion around requirements can also lead parents and doctors to forgo injections altogether.

What is the “shared clinical decision-making” that will now govern most access?

It is not a clear or common term. This essentially makes the vaccine optional instead of an integral part of official vaccine recommendations. It has only been applied to five vaccines in the past – usually when the vaccines do not warrant a full recommendation. When the recommendation for Covid vaccines changed to this framework, families and providers were confused and uncertain about the change. Insurers do not always cover these blows.

Will health insurance still cover it?

Private insurance, like what you receive through an employer, will likely still pay for the vaccine. But it’s unclear whether federal programs will cover the vaccine before two months of age if parents can’t receive it at birth.

Why is the hepatitis B vaccine so important and why is it normally given to newborns?

Hepatitis B is most dangerous for children infected during the first year of life. If a baby gets sick before the age of one, they have a 90% chance of developing a chronic infection, which can lead to serious long-term problems like cirrhosis, liver cancer and death. Only about 5% of adults with hepatitis B develop a chronic infection. Since 1990, when the hepatitis B vaccine began to be offered to all newborns, rates of recorded cases of the disease in children have fallen by 99%, from 20,000 to around 20 today due to inoculation.

Is there new information on the safety of the vaccine?

No, there isn’t. The vaccines are extremely safe and have been administered to more than a billion people worldwide for three decades without major safety concerns. Presenters at the CDC meeting did not provide any additional data on safety concerns.

According to skeptics, what is the danger of getting vaccinated?

Skeptics, including presenters and some advisers at the CDC meeting, worry about a link between vaccines and chronic diseases like allergies and eczema or neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. Several studies have found no evidence of links between vaccines and these conditions.

What is the danger as vaccine after vaccine is attacked?

These changes set the stage for an upheaval of decades of evidence on recommendations. By targeting a vaccine proven to be safe and effective, it sets a precedent for any vaccine to be questioned and sows doubt among the public.