SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hep B Free(Formerly SF Hep B Free - Bay Area)Â urges hospitals, clinicians, and public-health agencies to continue the universal newborn hepatitis B (Hep B) birth-dose vaccine protocol in light of the December 5 federal advisory panel vote recommending a move toward "individualized decision-making" for infants born to mothers testing negative for hepatitis B.
Newborns are most susceptible to becoming infected with the hepatitis B virus. For more than two decades, the CDC recommendation for all newborns to receive the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine within the first day of life and to complete the vaccine series, has been a cornerstone of the national strategy to eliminate hepatitis B. Since then, we have virtually eliminated acute and chronic hepatitis B infection in infants and children in this country and protected them from the risk of liver disease and liver cancer, and the stigma of living with a lifelong infectious disease. Hep B Free stresses that nothing has changed about the safety, effectiveness, or necessity of the vaccine — only the politics around it.
"Universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth is the gold standard," said Hep B Free Executive Director Richard So. "It protects babies born to the estimated 15-20% of women who give birth every year who did not receive a prenatal hepatitis B screening test and are not aware of the risk of mother to child transmission of hepatitis B. It would also protect babies born to mothers without hepatitis B from becoming infected through contact with the blood or bodily fluid of infected persons. Removing or weakening the birth-dose recommendation puts families at risk and reverses years of public-health progress." The group also notes that maternal antiviral treatment, while effective, does not replace the need for the newborn vaccine — both measures together provide the strongest protection against perinatal transmission.
Hep B Free calls on all Bay Area birthing hospitals, pediatric providers, and public-health departments to maintain universal birth-dose vaccination practices, reinforce catch-up vaccination for children and adults, and continue outreach and education to communities facing disproportionate hepatitis B burden. "We cannot afford confusion. We cannot afford backsliding," the organization said. "The science is clear. The vaccine works and is safe. Universal newborn hepatitis B immunization must remain the standard in San Francisco and across California."
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