The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee will meet on December 4–5 and may vote on updated recommendations for hepatitis B shots, according to a Federal Register notice issued Wednesday.
The committee, whose members were appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known vaccine skeptic, had abandoned a similar vote at its September meeting. The proposal under consideration would have delayed the first hepatitis B vaccine dose for most newborns under federal guidelines.
Kennedy—appointed by President Donald Trump—has moved aggressively to reshape U.S. vaccination policy in recent months, including withdrawing recommendations for COVID-19 shots for pregnant women and children, advising states on restricting vaccine mandates and reducing support for mRNA vaccine research. In June, he dismissed all 17 members of the CDC advisory group and replaced them with his own nominees.
According to the Federal Register, the December agenda includes discussions on vaccine safety, the childhood and adolescent immunization schedule, and hepatitis B vaccines. While the notice indicates a potential vote on hepatitis B recommendations, it provides no further specifics.
In September, the panel weighed a proposal to delay the first hepatitis B dose—currently recommended at birth—for infants born to mothers who test negative for the virus. That proposal would have shifted the first dose to at least one month of age. Trump and others have gone further, suggesting the vaccine be delayed until adolescence.
