The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the members of his newly appointed vaccine panel are throwing doubts about the hepatitis B vaccine and the established practice of vaccinating newborns.
Last week, during the first meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and the Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Immunization Practices (ACIP) since Kennedy eliminated all the previous members of the situation and appointed seven new members, the president questioned whether he was “wise” to administer shots “to each newborn before leaving the hospital.”
Martin Kullldorff, a former Harvard School of Medicine School, said a new working group would discuss the practice.
In addition, Kennedy said, without evidence, earlier this week during an interview with Tucker Carlson, that the CDC conducted a study that found that the hepatitis B vaccine increases the risk of autism, and that the researchers hid the results of the public’s study.
The HHS did not immediately respond to the ABC News request for the study that Kennedy referred to in his interview.
An infectious disease expert told ABC News that there is no evidence to suggest that the hepatitis B vaccine is not safe and that vaccinating babies at birth has been key to virtually eliminating the virus among children.
What is hepatitis B?
Hepatitis B is a liver infection caused by hepatitis B virus, according to CDC. The virus is transmitted from a person who comes into contact with the blood, semen or other body fluid of someone infected.
Newborns can be infected through the birth or casual contact process, because the virus can survive in the environment for approximately a week, he told ABC News, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.
A Twinrix syringe for prophylaxis against hepatitis A and the hepatitis B virus of a pharmacy.
Sven Hoppe/Picture Alliance through Getty Images
Up to half of all older children, adolescents and adults have symptoms of acute hepatitis B. Most children under 5 years of age, however, have no symptoms, CDC said.
“Hepatitis B … causes inflammation in the liver … and that inflammation makes the liver work well,” said Chin-Hong. “So that is cirrhosis and liver failure and, ultimately, also liver cancer. The more hepatitis B has, the greater the risk of cirrhosis or liver insufficiency and liver cancer.”
Acute hepatitis B infection, which is a short -term disease, can lead to a life infection known as chronic hepatitis B, according to CDCs
Chin-Hong said that means that if someone is born with hepatitis B or infected when he was a child, they have a high probability of liver failure or liver cancer as an adult.
Vaccination benefits
Chin-Hong said that the best way for someone to prevent hepatitis B and protect is vaccinated.
The vaccine It was developed for the first time in the early 1980s. Depending on the vaccine brand, the hepatitis B vaccine is a series of two or three shots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
He Child immunization program It recommends that babies be vaccinated at birth with a second dose between one and two months and a possible third dose of 6 months to 15 months.
“The more shots you get, the greater the chances of the vaccine,” said Chin-Hong. “If you get three shots, it is above 97% effectiveness.”
In 1991, when acip Universal vaccination recommended for hepatitis B Among babies to reduce transmission, there were 18,000 cases of hepatitis B in children under 10 in the United States, according to CDCs.
Since then, cases have decreased dramatically. CDC data It shows that in 2022, the case rate between the ages of 19 was less than 0.1 percent.
“It’s very, very rare,” said Chin-Hong. “Then, we have had great success, and the United States is a mirror for the rest of the world … 97% of countries now have a recommendation for hepatitis B vaccination in babies. It has really changed the face not only of infection and liver insufficiency, but also liver cancer.”
Why hepatitis B vaccination is safe
During the ACIP meeting last week, Kullldorff announced that children receive too many vaccines today compared to decades ago.
“The number of vaccines that our children and adolescents receive today exceeds what children receive in most other nations developed and what most of us in this room received when we were children,” Kulldorff said.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a press conference at the Department of Health and Human Services, April 16, 2025, in Washington, DC.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Chin-Hong said that by adding vaccines to immunization schedule, children have more protection against diseases compared to 10 or even 20 years ago, and vaccine composition is also different.
“The way we are delivering vaccines is very different,” he said. “They are through smaller bits in the virus instead of the entire virus or bacteria. Therefore, it means that babies are exposed to really less antigens. Or parts of the virus or bacteria, with better vaccines.”
The ACIP announcing that well-studied vaccines, such as the hepatitis B vaccine, will be amended again could make people think that the initial approval process was insecure, according to Chin-Hong.
As for Kennedy’s statement, HHS secretary has been a vaccine skeptic for a long time that he refused to say during his confirmation hearings earlier this year that vaccines do not cause autism even though many high quality studies do not find such a link.
“There is no evidence that the hepatitis B vaccine leads to autism or a risk factor for autism, and that is unquestionable,” said Chin-Hong.
Youri Benadjaoud of ABC News contributed to this report.
