CDC panel vote raises concerns over newborn hepatitis B protection in AlaskaCDC panel vote raises concerns over newborn hepatitis B protection in Alaska

A federal vaccine advisory panel voted to drop a longstanding recommendation for universal hepatitis B vaccination of newborns, a change that could affect protections credited with sharply reducing the disease among Alaska Native children, according to the Alaska Beacon. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, voted to recommend hepatitis B vaccination for infants younger than 2 months only if their mothers are infected or at risk. Current federal guidelines have recommended a dose at birth since 1991.

Hepatitis B was once widespread in Western Alaska, where Alaska Native children experienced high rates of liver cancer linked to the virus, Dr. Brian McMahon of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium said, according to the Alaska Beacon. McMahon said decades of screening and vaccination eliminated new symptomatic cases among Alaska Native children. He told the committee that universal newborn vaccination has been critical to preventing transmission. Alaska Native tribal health organizations plan to continue vaccinating newborns regardless of federal policy, McMahon said, according to the Alaska Beacon.