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Chicago doctor weighs in on major change to child vaccine schedule | ChicagoLIVE
A CDC advisory panel appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. no longer recommends that babies get a hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The state’s top doctor said he’s "deeply concerned" about a CDC advisory panel’s change to the decades-long recommendation that all babies in the country get a hepatitis B vaccine when they’re born.
What they're saying:
In a statement, Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra reiterated that the state’s vaccine guidance "remains unchanged."
"As a pediatrician and a parent, I am deeply concerned by this shift away from universal newborn vaccination, particularly in the absence of any new scientific evidence to support such a change," Vohra said in the statement. "In Illinois, we remain committed to science-based public health policy and have recently enshrined into law vaccine access and a state-level structure to provide evidenced-based recommendations."
His criticism is part of the swift backlash from medical and public health experts. The entire vaccine advisory panel was appointed by Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal vaccine skeptic who’s overseen other big changes to vaccine policy.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has for decades recommended the hepatitis B vaccine for babies to protect them from the serious liver infection. The shots are widely considered to be a public health success.
Vohra called hepatitis B vaccines at birth "safe, effective, and critical in preventing chronic liver disease and liver cancer later in life."
"Thanks to Governor Pritzker’s ongoing commitment to maintaining the highest standards of public health, Illinois has already enacted proactive measures, like the recently signed HB 767, to prevent barriers to access to this and other life-saving vaccines," he said. "IDPH will continue to rely on credible, transparent, science-based processes to protect the health and safety of Illinois families."
Vohra said the Illinois Immunization Advisory Committee will convene on Dec. 16 to review the latest ACIP recommenedation.