A vaccine advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has voted to stop the recommendation that all babies get a hepatitis B shot when they’re born.
The government agency has advised for decades that all babies get the shot shortly after birth, The Associated Press reported.
But the panel voted on Friday to advise that babies born to mothers who test positive for hepatitis B or for whom an infection status is not known are the only ones to get the shot at birth.
For others, the panel said that it is up to the doctors and parents to make the decision to give the vaccine at birth.
If they do not get the dose at birth, then it is advised to start no sooner than 2 months old, the AP reported.
The panel also voted to recommend that children be tested for hepatitis B immunity before deciding if they need to get additional doses of the vaccine, CNN reported.
Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by a virus, CNN reported.
If it is not cured, the infection can cause chronic hepatitis B, which can cause liver cancer, organ failure and cirrhosis of the liver.
Infants and children who have hepatitis B can develop chronic disease, CNN said.
Many people don’t have symptoms and may not be aware they have the virus.
Hepatitis B is spread from bodily fluids, including blood. It can be easily passed from mother to child during birth.
Check back for more on this developing story.
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