CDC Stops Recommending Hepatitis B Vaccine for All Newborns

The agency adopted advice from its vaccine advisory panel.

A baby after receiving a vaccine for hepatitis B and other diseases, in a file photograph. Riccardo Milani/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer recommends that all newborns receive a dose of the hepatitis B vaccine soon after birth.

The CDC on Dec. 16 announced it adopted advice from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a panel of independent experts that on Dec. 5 said officials should only recommend hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of birth for infants of women who tested positive, or did not undergo a test, for hepatitis B.