The CDC’s Hepatitis B Vaccine Decision Is Wrongheaded and Illogical

By Bobby Mukkamala

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

 

The CDC’s decision to overturn its decades-old recommendation for a birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine creates confusion and doubt among parents, reverses hard-won progress in preventing the virus, and will undoubtedly result in completely preventable illness and death.

 

Patients have the right to receive information and ask questions about recommended treatments so that they can make well-considered decisions about care. The CDC’s decision, however, seems to encourage delaying vaccinations for the hepatitis B virus — which can cause severe, sometimes fatal liver diseases — until at least two months of age, a seemingly minor shift that could have profound health impacts over a lifetime.

 

When health officials suddenly withdraw a long-standing recommendation, families naturally wonder what changed. Did new dangers emerge? Did physicians and scientists miss something for 30 years? Should I still trust this vaccine — or any vaccine?

 

With trust in public health organizations eroding, and confusion mounting, it’s more important than ever that medical professionals provide clear, levelheaded, evidence-based advice for how parents can keep their kids safe.

 

The hepatitis B virus — which is the leading cause of liver cancer — has not changed. Nor have the vaccines themselves, which have prevented hepatitis B virus infection and related disease and death in children. Before the CDC started recommending that all newborns get the vaccine in 1991, more than 20,000 new hepatitis B cases were reported nationwide each year. Since then, infections among children and teens have dropped by 99 percent.

 

Giving the vaccine shortly after birth is the most reliable way to prevent transmission from mothers who may not have access to testing, do not receive prenatal care, have a false negative test, or who are infected with the virus after they get tested. The birth dose of the vaccine also helps protect infants against transmission from asymptomatic household contacts.

 

By changing the recommendation, we will inevitably see an increase in hepatitis B infections. One recent study in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association estimates that, under the new recommendation, America will record an 8 percent increase in the number of newborns infected with hepatitis B.

 

The debate over hepatitis B is not happening in a vacuum. The public’s trust in federal health agencies has declined precipitously in recent years — and shifting or inconsistent recommendations, which are not based on scientific evidence, only make Americans further question these agencies. One recent survey found that more than 80 percent of adults trust their own physicians on vaccines, but fewer than 60 percent express similar trust in federal health agencies.

 

While it’s encouraging that most people continue to trust the advice of physicians and national health organizations, like the American Medical Association, public health suffers when people mistrust health recommendations from our nation’s public health institutions.

 

In this environment, confusion spreads quickly, and uncertainty about one vaccine often spills over into doubts about others.

 

We see this clearly with the seasonal flu vaccine. Despite its long record of safety and its ability to prevent serious illness, vaccination rates have been declining in recent years. Children’s flu immunization rates have dropped eight percentage points since 2020 — and last year saw the highest spike in flu-related hospitalizations since 2011. Flu seasons are highly unpredictable, but the emergence of a new flu strain and lower than usual flu vaccination rates have health officials concerned.

 

Simply put, the science behind the flu vaccine has not weakened — but public confidence has. When families aren’t sure what to believe, they often choose to do nothing, and that inaction carries real consequences.

 

Or consider the resurgence of measles, which was declared “eliminated” in 2000 thanks to widespread vaccination efforts but is now back with a vengeance. It has infected over 1,900 Americans this year, overwhelmingly in communities with falling vaccination rates. This year, about 92 percent of confirmed measles cases were in patients who were unvaccinated or whose vaccination status was unknown.

 

Speaking as a doctor and a parent, I believe that the sharp decline in trust in public health institutions should concern all of us. Our ability to respond to future pandemics and other health threats depends on the public’s confidence that government agencies responsible for improving health are making evidence-based decisions and communicating them clearly to families trying to do what’s best for their children.

 

At a time of declining faith in institutions, providing clear, unified, data-driven guidance is one of the most important steps we can take to protect our children — and to restore the trust on which public health ultimately depends.