The Fallout From CDC Panel’s Vote on Hepatitis B Vaccine

On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine panel voted eight to three in favor of abandoning the universal recommendation of vaccinating newborns for hepatitis B, a dramatic shift from a decades-long practice that health experts and critics fear will have staggering impacts on public health. The vote is in alignment with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has questioned the necessity of the shot at such an early age and packed the key panel with vaccine skeptics after taking office as Health and Human Services secretary. Below are the most recent developments from the fallout from this monumental health decision.