A vaccine advisory panel hand-selected by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is scheduled to vote on a recommendation that newborns receive the hepatitis B inoculation within 24 hours of birth. The panel, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, will debate and possibly delay the vaccination for children. HHS vaccine advisory panel to determine hepatitis B vaccine scheduling for children https://t.co/gvAI1hAasv — John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) December 4, 2025 USA TODAY shared more: When the committee met in September, it tabled a vote that would’ve recommended the first vaccine dose be delayed at least one month after birth for babies who are born to mothers who test negative for hepatitis B. While the committee meets Thursday, it’s unclear if or how long it will recommend postponing the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Committee chair Kirk Milhoan told the Washington Post the timing of the delay in the first dose is “still being finalized.” In September, President Donald Trump said hepatitis B is often sexually transmitted so the vaccine should be delayed until age 12. But the virus also can be transmitted through sharing personal items such as razors and toothbrushes or exposure to blood though cuts or sores, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Doctors say maintaining the birth dose is important to protect newborns. Mothers might not know they have hepatitis B or lack access to testing and prenatal care. “The US is an outlier in recommending universal hepatitis B vaccine, and we would never approve a vaccine today based on the flimsy data used to initially approve the hepatitis B vaccine,” Dr. Mary Talley Bowden said. Bowden said that Tracy Beth Høeg, the acting director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), shined a “voice of reason” at the ACIP meeting. Check it out: The US is an outlier in recommending universal hepatitis B vaccine, and we would never approve a vaccine today based on the flimsy data used to initially approve the hepatitis B vaccine.@TracyBethHoeg shines as the voice of reason in today’s ACIP meeting. pic.twitter.com/cDkc9kto0O — Mary Talley Bowden MD (@MaryBowdenMD) December 4, 2025 ACIP member Retsef Levi, PhD, said U.S. policy is “completely misaligned” with comparable countries. “They are potentially not convinced by the very confident arguments that you and others are making about the safety and the need and the benefits of having a birth dose for babies that were born to mothers that tested negative for Hep B,” he explained. Levi made a comparison to past arguments on the experimental mRNA jabs being recommended for children. Footage below: ACIP member Retsef Levi just calmly shredded the idea that every newborn needs a Hep B shot — a claim pushed hard by Big Pharma. “The policy in the US is completely misaligned with many countries that… care about their children just as much as we do.” “They are potentially not… pic.twitter.com/i1g27yesjG — MAHA Action (@MAHA_Action) December 4, 2025 CNBC provided further info: The birth dose recommendation was introduced in 1991 and is credited with driving down infections in kids by 99% since then. Maniar called that a “remarkable success story that we run the risk of reversing” if the committee changes the recommendation. Decisions by the panel are not legally binding, as it is up to states to mandate immunizations. But ACIP’s recommendations have significant implications for whether private insurance plans and government assistance programs cover the vaccines at no cost for eligible children. The panel’s upcoming two-day meeting in Atlanta comes after Kennedy earlier this year gutted the committee and appointed 12 new members, including some well-known vaccine critics. During the meeting in September, some advisors raised questions about whether the benefits of the shot outweigh potential safety risks.