US vaccine committee scraps broad recommendation for hepatitis B shot in newborns

(Corrects paragraph two to say the motion passed 8 to 3, instead of 8 to 11)

Dec 5 (Reuters) – A group of vaccine advisers to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday voted to remove the broad recommendation that all newborns in the U.S. receive a hepatitis B vaccine.

For infants of mothers who test negative, the committee voted 8 to 11 recommend that parents, in consultation with a healthcare provider, should decide when or if their child should receive the vaccine series. It advised parents who elect to delay the vaccination to offer the first dose no sooner than two months of age.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)