New Mexico health officials urge hepatitis B vaccines for infants despite federal shift

The New Mexico Department of Health is still advising that newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine, despite a new federal decision.

NMDOH continues to “strongly recommend” that newborns receive the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth in accordance with the American Academy of Pediatrics, state officials said Monday.

The announcement serves as the state’s response to a vote last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee to no longer recommend that infants receive the hepatitis B shot at birth, reversing a 34-year-old decision.

“For decades, the hepatitis B vaccine has proven safe and effective at protecting children from infection, including in settings like day care and schools where others may not know they are infected,” Dr. Miranda Durham, NMDOH’s chief medical officer, said in a statement.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP — staffed by appointees of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — voted 8 to 3 to recommend “individual-based decision-making” for parents deciding whether to give the hepatitis B vaccine to infants born to women who test negative for the virus, and suggested that infants not receive the vaccine before 2 months of age.

Receiving the hepatitis B vaccine on the day a child is born has been the standard since 1991. Since then, hepatitis B infections have decreased by 99% in children and teenagers, state officials said.

Hepatitis B is a viral liver infection spread through blood, semen or other bodily fluids. Infants can contract the virus during childbirth from a mother with hepatitis B, or from a family member or caregiver who may be infected unknowingly, though the vaccine prevents transmission in almost all cases, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Most adults recover from hepatitis B infection fully, though children and infants are more likely to develop a chronic case, the clinic said. Up to 90% of infants infected at birth with hepatitis B develop a chronic infection, and about a quarter die prematurely from related liver disease, NMDOH said.

“The vaccine provides a safety net for newborns at a time when they are most susceptible to a disease,” Durham said.

Kennedy has long been skeptical of giving vaccines to infants and children, despite research and guidance from physician groups and state and federal health agencies. In September, his hand-picked vaccine panel voted to no longer recommend the measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox vaccine to children under 4 due to a slightly increased risk of febrile seizures.

New Mexico is one of more than 20 states that can set its own vaccine guidelines, either in addition to or instead of CDC recommendations. In October, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill that will take effect Dec. 31, allowing the state to use recommendations from physician groups rather than the federal government when deciding vaccine guidelines for children.