Prompts winter weather advisories as cold air moves in Friday night

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

 to end the decades-old recommendation that all U.S. newborns get a hepatitis B vaccine dose at birth. 

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted that only infants born to mothers who test positive for hepatitis B — or whose infection status is unknown — are recommended to get that first dose immediately. 

The vote could result in new guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is a dramatic shift from the CDC’s current policy, which was adopted in 1991 and is credited with 

reducing childhood hepatitis B infections by more than 95 percent

Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks with a pediatrician and an infectious disease researcher about what the new recommendation means for families, hospitals and communities in Minnesota that are disproportionately affected by the liver infection.

What questions do you have about the the vote to no longer recommend the hepatitis B vaccine at birth? What do you want to know about the risks of hepatitis B? If you’ve had a baby recently, or you’re about to — what's on your mind as these recommendations shift? 

Call us during the 9 a.m. hour at 651-227-6000 or 800-242-2828.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on:

Health

Politics and Government News

Shows

MPR News with Angela Davis

Host

Author

Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News guest host Chris Farrell talks about a federal vaccine advisory committee’s vote to end the longstanding recommendation that all U.S. babies get the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. 

U.S. vaccine panel reverses hepatitis B guidance

Go Deeper.

Like this?