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A medical worker takes care of a baby at a hospital. ((Photo by Wang Chun/Xinhua via Getty Images))

The Brief

    • The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is reconsidering a delay in hepatitis B vaccination for newborns.
    • The University of Minnesota’s CIDRAP found that delaying the birth dose could increase HBV infections.
    • Current vaccination practices have nearly eliminated infant hepatitis B infections in the U.S.

Hepatitis B vaccine hours after birth is crucial, study finds

Why you should care:

The University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy’s (CIDRAP) Vaccine Integrity Project, which launched in April 2025, reviewed more than 400 studies, finding the hepatitis B birth dose is safe, effective and crucial for preventing infections and maintaining public health.

Currently, the first hepatitis B vaccine dose is administered to babies within 24 hours of birth.

The other side:

This report comes as the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is scheduled to revisit a controversial decision about delaying the hepatitis B birth dose for infants.

The committee in September tabled a vote to delay the birth dose choice for women who test negative for hepatitis B. The committee will take up the motion to delay the vote again at its Dec. 4 meeting.

What they’re saying:

“The real question before ACIP is whether its members will vote based on the evidence about the hepatitis B birth dose,” CIDRAP Director Dr. Michael Osterholm said. “After extensive review, we did not discover safety or effectiveness data that support delaying the choice parents have to vaccinate their newborns against hepatitis B. Instead, it showed that a delay will needlessly endanger the health of America’s children, putting more of them at risk of HBV infection. The evidence clearly indicates that ACIP members should vote no against a change to the current recommendation.”

Public health implications

By the numbers:

Since the introduction of universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth in 1991, infant infections have been nearly eliminated, with a 95% drop in pediatric cases, the University of Minnesota said.

The current vaccination strategy has prevented more than 6 million hepatitis B infections and nearly 1 million hepatitis B-related hospitalizations.

CIDRAP Deputy Director Eve Lackritz highlighted the success of the United State’s hepatitis B vaccine strategy, stating, “We found no justification for turning back. It will risk losing hard-earned gains.”