A panel of advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing to vote on whether the agency should abandon its longstanding recommendation that every baby receive a hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth.
The vaccine, which has been widely recommended for newborns in the United States since the early 1990s, is credited with reduction in cases of acute hepatitis B in children by 99%. The virus, which can be passed from mother to baby during childbirth, can lead to liver disease and early death. There is no cure.
Despite its success, the hepatitis B vaccine has become the latest target of skeptics who question whether the benefits of the shot outweigh the potential risks.
According to Dr. Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiologist practicing at Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, the vaccine given on day one “has a risk of neonatal fever, which requires additional interventions,” such as a blood test to determine the cause of the fever.
Milhoan has been a member of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) since June, when Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. became a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). fired all its membersreplacing them with his own appointees. On Monday, Milhoan was appointed as the new ACIP chair, replacing Martin Kulldorf, a biostatistician who previously questioned childhood vaccinesincluding hepatitis B.
Dr. Sean O'Leary, a pediatric infectious disease expert and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said he has never seen a serious reaction after “thousands of children” received the hepatitis B vaccine.
“I have never seen a fever that is truly associated with the hepatitis B vaccine,” O'Leary said at a media briefing Tuesday.
And a review of more than 400 studies found no evidence that the birth dose of vaccines causes any short- or long-term health problems. On the contrary, a review of the study published Tuesday by Vaccine Integrity ProjectAn independent panel of experts led by the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota found that giving hepatitis B vaccine to newborns prevented more than 6 million infections and nearly 1 million hospitalizations. The article has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
ACIP meetings are scheduled for Thursday and Friday. The committee makes recommendations to the CDC director, who can then decide whether to accept them. While a vote against newborn vaccinations does not prohibit doctors from giving the shots, the panel's recommendations affect insurance coverage.
It is unclear whether ACIP members will vote to cancel or delay the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine by a month or two. agenda posted online as of Tuesday described the meeting in general terms, without revealing details about who would present the data. A vote for vaccine This was supposed to happen at the ACIP meeting in September, but was tabled due to confusion among committee members.
Hepatitis B can be spread through sexual contact and through sharing drug paraphernalia, such as needles. It can also be spread from person to person if they share household items such as toothbrushes or razors.
Milhoan said any decision to vaccinate newborns against hepatitis B should be made based on doctors' individual assessment of the infant's risk of infection, meaning whether the pregnant woman has tested positive for the infection or has a “questionable infectious background.” At the September ACIP meeting, the panel voted unanimously to recommend that all pregnant women be tested for hepatitis B.
But not all pregnant women receive prenatal care, and if they do, not all feel comfortable talking openly with their doctors.
Milhoan appeared to reject the argument that women cannot disclose activities that may increase the risk of contracting hepatitis B due to stigma.
“I hope they love their child more than their pride,” he said.
A report for 2019 showed that only 84% to 88% of pregnant women are tested for the virus. According to WHO, without vaccination, 90% of children exposed to the hepatitis B virus at birth will develop chronic hepatitis. American Academy of Pediatrics.
The hepatitis B vaccine isn't the only immunization Miljoan has questioned. He is a senior fellow at the Independent Medical Alliance – formerly known as the Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance – a group that advocates for unproven Covid treatments. His biography on the IMA website says it is “focused on treating patients affected by acute SARS-CoV-2 infections, Long Covid, and vaccine-associated cardiovascular toxicity due to the spike protein.” Last year he participated in event with Rep. Marjorie Taylor GreeneR-Ga., about alleged injuries associated with gunshots.
Milhoane has particularly criticized Covid vaccines for their association with a small but increased risk of infection. a heart disease called myocarditis in young men. An association was not observed in clinical studies; it was discovered in 2021, shortly after images became available.
“The incidence rate of myocarditis was much higher than anyone thought,” Milhoan said. He said he had been labeled an “anti-vaxxer” for speaking out about the potential risks.
“People said, 'Are you against vaccines?' I’m just trying to show you what we see,” he said.
Over the weekend, Dr. Vinay Prasad, chief of the Food and Drug Administration's vaccination office, told employees in a memo that an internal review found that at least 10 children had died “after and because of” Covid vaccines and suggested the deaths were related to myocarditis. Prasad did not provide any evidence to support his claims.
Studies have shown that myocarditis is more often associated with Covid infection than with vaccination.
The use of aluminum adjuvants in vaccines is also expected to be discussed at this week's ACIP meeting. The ingredient is added to encourage the immune system to respond better to vaccines. A study of more than 1 million peoplepublished in the summer, found that aluminum adjuvants were not associated with an increased risk 50 chronic diseases, including autoimmune diseases, allergies and autism.
The meeting followed months of turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including mass layoffs and significant changes in its messaging. November 19 Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) webpage who once stated unequivocally that vaccines do not cause autism was rewritten suggest, without evidence, that health officials “ignored” a possible link between vaccines and the disorder.
