Some states are pushing back against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s scaled-back recommendation for early hepatitis B vaccination.
Alaska and Rhode Island are among the states telling residents that a hepatitis B vaccine dose is advised for newborns, regardless of whether their mothers tested negative for the virus.
Hepatitis B infections in pregnant women can be missed due to problems such as false negatives, Sarah Aho, Danielle Dixon, and Pollyanna Stewart with the Alaska Section of Epidemiology said in a Dec. 29 bulletin.
Alaska health officials are recommending a dose within 12 hours to infants born to women who tested positive or have unknown hepatitis B status, and a dose within 24 hours for other newborns.
A so-called birth dose “offers protection when infants are most vulnerable, helping to prevent lifelong infection and liver cancer,” the bulletin stated, citing a CDC webpage that says hepatitis B is primarily spread through bodily fluids such as blood but can also be spread through sharing toothbrushes and other personal items.
Rhode Island officials are also keeping in place the state’s posture on vaccination against hepatitis B.
“The hepatitis B vaccine birth dose helps prevent a lifelong, potentially fatal, chronic infection, which can lead to serious liver disease and liver cancer later in life,” Dr. Jerry Larkin, the state’s health director, said in a Dec. 11 statement.
The CDC, acting on Dec. 5 advice from its vaccine advisory panel, known as ACIP, on Dec. 16 stopped recommending hepatitis B vaccination within hours of birth for all infants, in part because of concerns about vaccine safety.
Available hepatitis B vaccines can cause issues such as headache, according to regulatory labels. Serious adverse events reported following vaccination include Bell’s palsy.
The CDC now says that infants born to women who are confirmed to have hepatitis B, or are not sure whether they have hepatitis B, should receive an early dose. For other infants, parents should consult with health care professionals and take into account individual factors, including the risks of hepatitis B and the risks of the hepatitis B vaccine, according to the agency.
Infants who do not receive the birth dose should not be administered a hepatitis B vaccine before 2 months of age, the CDC suggests.
The prior recommended schedule was one dose at birth, one dose at 1 month to 2 months of age, and a third dose at 6 months to 18 months of age.
“This recommendation reflects ACIP’s rigorous review of the available evidence,” acting CDC director Jim O’Neill said in a statement on Dec. 16, 2025.
“We are restoring the balance of informed consent to parents whose newborns face little risk of contracting hepatitis B.”
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, whose department is moving to roll back mandates for hepatitis B shots and other vaccines, is among the supporters of the CDC change.
“Did you know the hepatitis B vaccines given to babies in the U.S. were approved … based on less than a week of safety data?” he wrote on X on Dec. 6, 2025. “Yes, absurd.”
California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington state are among other states that are still recommending hepatitis B vaccination for newborns, regardless of the hepatitis B status of their mothers.
“Delaying the first dose increases the risk of infection and jeopardizes completion of the full vaccine series, which is required for long-lasting protection,” the West Coast Health Alliance, whose members include California and Oregon, said in a statement.
“ACIP remains the scientific body guiding immunization recommendations in this country, and [the Department of Health and Human Services] will ensure policy is based on rigorous evidence and gold-standard science,” a spokesperson for the department told The Epoch Times in an email.