Statement from Richard Besser, MD, on ACIP’s Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccination Recommendation

PRINCETON—The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) today has reversed its recommendation that all newborns receive a Hepatitis B vaccination. Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, released the following statement in response:

I used to look forward to ACIP meetings. I would listen as our nation’s leading health experts presented and debated the best approaches to preventing disease and promoting health. But this vote is an example of why I now dread these meetings. A committee of experts is now largely comprised of antivaccine champions.

The committee’s decision to reverse its longstanding recommendation that all newborns receive a Hepatitis B vaccine would be utterly shocking, were it not consistent with the anti-vaccine crusade Secretary Kennedy promised the nation.  It flies in the face of the best scientific evidence and endangers our children.  As a pediatrician for more than 30 years, I saw firsthand how vaccinating all newborns virtually eradicated Hepatitis B among children. But ACIP is now putting our children at needless risk of a dangerous and potentially fatal disease.

This vote opens the door to a resurgence of Hepatitis B infections and is one more step in the administration’s concerted efforts to dismantle the recommended childhood vaccination schedule. If the committee continues to move in that direction, the health consequences will be devastating. More babies and young children will suffer from severe preventable illness, and some will die. More parents will have the profound anxiety and distress that comes with having a very sick child. Families will face major healthcare costs.   

Those of us who care about children’s health cannot allow this to happen. Policymakers, physicians, and families must turn to reputable medical and public health groups for guidance, and health insurers should do the same for informing what vaccines they will cover.

The days of trusting ACIP and CDC for vaccine recommendations are gone.

For more information or to speak with an expert, contact media@rwjf.org.

About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

RWJF is a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime. Through funding, convening, advocacy, and evidence-building, we work side-by-side with communities, practitioners, and institutions to get to health equity faster and pave the way together to a future where health is no longer a privilege, but a right.