Arizona tells doctors to keep giving hepatitis B vaccine to newborns
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Arizona health officials continue to recommend hepatitis B vaccinations for newborns despite new federal guidance.
Why it matters: It's the latest example of conflicting health advice from the Trump administration — which is looking to do away with long-standing medical practices — and Democratic officials, who encourage providers to stick to the status quo.
- Parents are left to reconcile the conflicting advice.
The big picture: The CDC began recommending the hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns in 1991. The disease can cause liver failure, cancer and even death.
- Since then, annual hepatitis B cases in the U.S. have dropped 99%, from 16,000 to less than 20, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Yes, but: Vaccine skeptics, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have argued that the shot is unnecessary for most children.
Catch up quick: Last week, an advisory panel on vaccines handpicked by Kennedy voted to drop the decades-old federal recommendation that all infants receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
- Instead, it recommended that mothers who test negative for hepatitis could get their infants vaccinated after they turn 2 months old and after consulting with a doctor. Mothers testing positive would still be recommended to have their infants vaccinated at birth.
- The panel's recommendations have yet to be formally approved by the CDC.
The latest: The Arizona Department of Health Services sent a letter to medical providers this week noting it continues to recommend the vaccine for all newborns.
What they're saying: "The universal hepatitis B birth dose is one of the simplest, safest, most powerful ways to protect Arizona babies from a liver infection that is completely preventable," Arizona Department of Health Services infectious disease medical director Joel Terriquez said in a statement leading up to last week's vote.
- "The complications of infection can be devastating and last a lifetime."
What's next: More medical conflicts are likely on the way: President Trump has ordered his top health officials to review all U.S. childhood vaccination recommendations and align them with "best practices" from other developed countries.