MDH recommends hepatitis B vaccine at birth, despite change in federal guidance
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The Minnesota Department of Health will continue to advise pediatricians and families to get the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, at odds with new federal guidance. A federal vaccine advisory committee voted to end the longstanding recommendation on Friday.
The committee decided to recommend the birth dose only for babies whose parent tests positive for hepatitis B, and in cases where the parent wasn’t tested. Otherwise, parents can wait until their baby is two months old.
Minnesota Department of Health state epidemiologist Dr. Ruth Lynfield, along with many public health leaders, have concerns about the recommendation.
“This is a really scary virus,” Dr. Lynfield said. “It can last on surfaces for a week, and we have a really effective vaccine.”
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Since 1991, the government has advised that all babies be vaccinated against the liver infection right after birth. The shots are widely considered to be a public health success for preventing thousands of illnesses. Dr. Lynfield told Minnesota Now host Nina Moini that there has been a 99 percent drop in hepatitis B infections in newborns as a result.
The state expects the hepatitis B vaccine to still be accessible in the Minnesota Vaccines for Children program, which is a federally funded program that provides low or no-cost vaccines for low-income, uninsured or underinsured Minnesotans. Forty-four percent of Minnesota children are eligible for the program as of October.
This is not the first time MDH has given different guidance from the federal government since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took over as U.S. secretary of health and human services. In September, the state moved to maintain access to COVID-19 vaccines after the federal government restricted access to the shot for people 65 and older, or people 6 months and older with one or more underlying health issues.
Dr. Lynfield worries the federal guidance brings up unnecessary confusion for the public when longstanding guidance is questioned.
“The current generation of parents are not used to seeing these infectious diseases, and I think that we have become complacent, and the risk benefit ratio is getting a little mixed up,” she said.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation with Minnesota Now host Nina Moini and Dr. Ruth Lynfield.
Subscribe to the Minnesota Now podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
