Tornadoes touch down in Marion, Plainview

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

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.

Correction (Dec. 9, 2025): A previous version of this story misidentified the committee Dr. King-Schultz serves on.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on:

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Health

Politics and Government News

Shows

MPR News with Angela Davis

On Air

Host

Author

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?

News you can use in your inbox