Delay for Hep B Shots Could Result in Hundreds of Infant Infections — Studies |
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Two new studies published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) demonstrate that delaying hepatitis B vaccines for newborns, as outlined in guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier this year, will likely lead to hundreds of additional infections each year, resulting in millions of dollars in lifetime costs.
Prior to the CDC’s changes, the hepatitis B vaccine was recommended for every infant in the U.S., to be administered around the time of their birth. The new vaccine schedule — issued by a panel within the CDC filled primarily with individuals appointed by noted anti-vaxxer Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — removes hepatitis B from the list of vaccines recommended for children at birth, instead advising that newborns receive the shots starting at two months of age after parents consult with a medical provider.
Those changes could have dire health and economic consequences for children and their families, the studies found, affecting them throughout their entire lives if they become infected with the virus.
One of the JAMA-published studies found that delaying the first dose of a hepatitis B vaccine by two months for most children in the U.S. would result in “$16.4 million in added costs for infants born during 1 year.” The second study that was published estimates that an additional 628 infants will become infected with hepatitis B each year if only 10 percent of babies are in line with the previous policy........