WASHINGTON D.C. — Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and its vaccine advisory panel—the Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)—voted to delay the Hepatitis B vaccine, a shot that for decades was recommended to be given within the first 24 hours of a newborn’s life. The panel today recommended waiting until at least 2 months of age.
Since Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. assumed leadership of Health and Human Services, Independent Women has been advancing policies that address increased demand for transparency, affordability, and trust in health care—from upfront shoppable prices and an end to surprise medical bills to renewed public trust in vaccine safety and effectiveness.
About today’s vote, Dr. Monique Yohanan, senior fellow for health policy at Independent Women, said:
“The universal birth dose for hepatitis B was never about science; it was a workaround for missed maternal screening. Today’s vote finally acknowledges that newborns of hepatitis B-negative mothers are not at risk. This change lets us focus resources where they matter—families with true exposure risk—instead of treating every baby as if they are high risk.”
This change reflects what medical data and parental advocates have argued for years: Hepatitis B is a niche disease in the United States, and the focus should be on those who are at higher risk of contracting this disease.
Administering this vaccine at birth offers little direct benefit to most healthy infants. By removing the day-one requirement, HHS is taking a step in the right direction, working to align national policy with evidence-based medicine and parental autonomy.
In an op-ed penned for HIT Consultant, Dr. Yohanan takes her recommendation for the vaccine one step further. She argues that, to the extent that universal Hepatitis B vaccination is considered, it would make sense to move it to adolescence. Even that being said, she writes, “in adolescence, Hepatitis B is not a disease that requires universal vaccination, but one that should be targeted and offered to at-risk populations.”
BACKGROUND:
Independent Women’s “Rethinking Vaccine Policy” Paper:
Earlier this year, Independent Women released Dr. Yohanan’s groundbreaking paper, “Rethinking Vaccine Policy: A Case for Humility, Precision, and Parental Partnership.” In it, she exposes critical information gaps in the current childhood vaccine schedule, including for Hepatitis B, and calls for a thoughtful recalibration of public health policy—one rooted in humility, scientific precision, and genuine partnership with parents. Her work urges policymakers to move beyond the outdated “one-size-fits-all” system that continues to dominate today’s public health landscape.
Expanding on these ideas, Independent Women’s grassroots storytelling arm, Independent Women’s Features (IW Features), launched a two-part documentary series featuring Dr. Yohanan, “A Dose of Humility: The Promise and Purpose of Vaccines.” The series breaks down the different roles vaccines play in society, organizing them into three clear categories:
- Category 1: True Herd Immunity
- Category 2: Community Transmission
- Category 3: Individual Protection Only
Together, the paper and docu-series offer a blueprint for a more transparent, evidence-driven, and trustworthy vaccine framework—one that restores confidence by aligning public health policy with both science and common sense.
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