Help Spread the Word: ACIP Updates Its Hepatitis B Birth-Dose Recommendation

Last week, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to update its national guidance on the Hepatitis B vaccine for infants.

Under the new federal recommendation, only infants born to mothers who test positive for Hepatitis B, or whose status is unknown, should receive the vaccine at birth.

For infants not receiving the birth dose, ACIP recommended that an initial dose be administered no earlier than 2 months of age. ACIP also recommended a shared clinical decision-making process with healthcare professionals to help parents decide when, or if, their child will begin the hepatitis B vaccine series.

In other words, ACIP is not telling families that their children automatically need a Hep B vaccine. Instead, parents are advised to “consider vaccine benefits, vaccine risks, and infection risks.”

This is a major national policy shift, and families everywhere deserve to be informed. However, many hospitals, providers, and state health departments may continue using the old universal birth-dose policy simply because they have not yet updated their protocols—or because they choose not to follow the new guidance, as we’ve already seen with Governor Newsom’s statements in California.

That’s why we need your help.

TAKE ACTION:

Share this information with parents, birth professionals, community members, and local groups.

Ask your own healthcare providers whether they are aware of the updated federal guidance and encourage them to review HHS and ACIP’s announcement so they can give accurate, up-to-date information to families.

SAMPLE SCRIPT:

“Hello, my name is ____. I’m calling to make sure you’re aware that ACIP has updated its national guidance on newborn Hepatitis B vaccination.

The new federal recommendation reserves the birth-dose for infants whose mothers test positive for Hepatitis B.

ACIP states that any decision to vaccinate after 2 months of age should be made through a shared clinical decision-making process between parents and their healthcare provider. They also emphasize that parents should be informed of the risks associated with the Hep B vaccine—and acknowledge that choosing not to vaccinate for Hep B is an acceptable option.

I encourage you to help communicate this update to hospitals, providers, and the public. Thank you for your attention.”

TALKING POINTS:

Healthy newborns are not at risk for Hepatitis B. Transmission in the U.S. is said to overwhelmingly occur through adult behaviors—not from healthy, Hep B-negative mothers to their infants.

The Hep B vaccine contains one of the highest aluminum loads of any shot on the childhood schedule.

Newborns have immature kidneys and a limited ability to clear injected aluminum, increasing the potential for accumulation in the brain and other organs.

ACIP’s change reflects scientific concerns about exposing newborns to unnecessary immune stimulation and high adjuvant doses.

Researchers studying aluminum neurotoxicity have warned that newborns are uniquely vulnerable to aluminum’s biological effects.

Birth is not a medical emergency requiring immediate vaccination.

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and many other countries do not recommend hepatitis B at birth.

MORE INFORMATION

HHS confirmation of the new ACIP guidance:
https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/acip-recommends-individual-based-decision-making-hepatitis-b-vaccine-birth-dose-infants-born-women-test-negative-virus.html

ACIP Meeting Materials:
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/meetings/

Scientific analysis of Hep B birth-dose and aluminum exposure:
https://drchristopherexley.substack.com/p/hepb-vaccinationa-job-half-done

Article on dangers of aluminum in vaccines: https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/vaccinations/aluminum-in-vaccines-what-everyone-needs-to-know/#gsc.tab=0

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