Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said Sunday he is “very concerned” about potential changes to the hepatitis B vaccine schedule for infants, warning that the longstanding recommendation has been essential to preventing newborn infections. A federal advisory panel overseen by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to debate the issue at its Dec. 4 meeting.
Speaking on CBS’s Face the Nation, Cassidy said the hepatitis B vaccine and ingredients such as aluminum “have been shown to be safe,” adding that efforts to question them come from “people who don’t understand the epidemiology of hepatitis B.” He argued that the success of current vaccination guidelines may have given some policymakers a false sense of security.
A Federal Register notice shows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will consider vaccine safety, immunization schedules, and hepatitis B shots. Any discussion of removing aluminum or issuing warnings could impact multiple pediatric vaccines, including DTaP, hepatitis A and B, HPV, pneumococcal, and meningitis.
The Trump administration has also advocated separating the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine into three individual shots, despite a lack of evidence supporting the move.
Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, noted that newborn hepatitis B infections declined by nearly 70 percent after the vaccine’s approval. “I’m a doctor,” he said. “I have seen people die from vaccine-preventable disease. You don’t start by stopping recommendations that have made us substantially healthier.”
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