On the Tuesday, December 9, 2025 episode of The Excerpt podcast: A vaccine panel led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voted to end the longstanding recommendation for hepatitis B shots for all newborns. USA TODAY Consumer Health Reporter Ken Alltucker joins The Excerpt to discuss the ramifications.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

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Dana Taylor:

Last Friday, the Centers for Disease Control Vaccine Advisors changed the recommendation of a routine hepatitis B shot for all newborns, a change widely viewed as a victory for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Now, health experts warn the change could undo decades of public health improvements and parents are left with unclear guidance. Hello and welcome to USA TODAY's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Tuesday, December 9th, 2025. Joining me now to look at how this decision will affect children and families across the country is USA TODAY Consumer Health Reporter Ken Alltucker. Thanks so much for joining me on the podcast, Ken.

Ken Alltucker:

Thanks for having me.

Dana Taylor:

Ken, after a delay, the panel is now voted to end the recommendation for hepatitis B shots for all newborns. In practical terms, what weight does that recommendation hold? Can parents still elect to have their child vaccinated with the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth?

Ken Alltucker:

Yes. It's an advisory committee that came up with this recommendation and it does hold significant weight, but this is an advisory committee, so it does not have regulatory power. States control the regulatory power over vaccine schedules. They typically can mandate, for instance, when a child is going to school that they have certain number of vaccinations before they're allowed to attend school. There are exemptions to that, like there can be religious exemptions or medical exemptions. And some states have what they call personal beliefs exemptions. It has pretty significant sweeping impact because states often listen to this advisory panel when deciding their policy. Now, I should say this is an advisory panel. It first goes to the CDC director who then must sign off or modify the recommendation. Then it goes to states.

Dana Taylor:

You called Thursday's vaccine advisory panel meeting contentious and confusing. Why was that? What were the sticking points?

Ken Alltucker:

Well, just to take it back a step, in September, the same advisory committee met. Now, this was an advisory committee that has wholesale been changed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who fired the previous regime, reappointed members. And in September when they met, they had this on the agenda, but they couldn't come to an agreement then. So they took it up again last week. And during that hearing, they were to vote on Thursday, but there was pretty significant disagreement among some members on the panel. They kind of felt like they were taken off guard because as one member pointed out, the wording of the questions they were to vote on changed four times over a 96-hour period. And they felt like they were being rushed. It was a departure from how this panel previously handled these questions, which kind of gave members time to look at the questions and evaluate evidence before debating and coming to their decision.

So they sort of felt rushed. They asked for one more day, they got it, and by a majority, the panel recommended to delay the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. Now, when I say delay, parents have the option now of choosing whether they want to get a birth dose within 24 hours or as the committee recommended for parents who choose not to get the birth dose, to not get it sooner than two months out. So that was a pretty significant change.

Dana Taylor:

And after hearing the debate on changes to the immunization schedule, what can you share with us about those arguments both for and against?

Ken Alltucker:

Well, some members who have been appointed to this panel have had a history of questioning vaccines. President Trump as well has raised issues about the number of vaccines that infants and children get in the United States compared to peer nations in Europe. And in general, they question why so many vaccines are needed as the child's growing up. So I think they want to take a hard look at all these shots, and that's sort of the impetus behind this change. Now, advocates of vaccination and the current schedule of vaccination will tell you there's evidence built in to why newborns and then children get vaccines at certain times, and the proof is in the work. I mean, for hepatitis B, for example, many cited a study that showed 99% of infections have been curtailed since this current recommendation, well, current up until last week, was put in place in 1991.

Dana Taylor:

Ken, what are public health experts saying about the risks of delaying the first dose?

Ken Alltucker:

Advocates of the previous recommendation to get a birth dose within 24 hours of a baby being born say it's proven. And since 1991, 99% of chronic hepatitis B infections have been curtailed. And what they say is this puts children at risk potentially for chronic hepatitis B, which eventually can lead to a lifelong problems with liver disease such as cirrhosis and even liver cancer.

Dana Taylor:

This is, of course, a huge win for Secretary Kennedy. You've mentioned this, but I want to circle back. Why do RFK Jr. and President Donald Trump want to change the vaccine schedule? What's driving the anti-vaccine crusade?

Ken Alltucker:

The anti-vaccine crusade, if you will, are people who hold that opinion has been around for a long time. Parents questioning the need for the number of vaccines that children get. Now, RFK Jr. has certainly emphasized vaccines and the need for them and has looked at other vaccines such as the measles vaccine. RFK Jr. and President Trump have both identified the vaccination schedule as something they would like looked at, and this is certainly an example of that. Now, after this was passed, President Trump went on Truth Social and said it was a great recommendation and he would like to see a broader look at the vaccination schedule. That's sort of the political view that he holds and RFK as well. They're taking a hard look at the current recommended vaccines and why we're doing it when we're doing it.

Dana Taylor:

In September, President Trump said that he thought the hepatitis B vaccine should be delayed until the age of 12. What was his logic there and what was the response from health experts?

Ken Alltucker:

Yeah, when he initially said that, he viewed hepatitis B as an infection that people who are prone to using drugs, sharing needles in particular, and having sexual contact as hepatitis B infections being a risk among those individuals. But doctors and scientists will tell you that the reason for the birth dose is to prevent transmission during childbirth. Mothers might not know they're infected with hepatitis B, although they're tested during prenatal visits. Not everyone has access to doctor's visits when they're pregnant, and so they might not have gotten the testing. So the birth dose is a way to immediately treat any potential infection or the risk of any infection during childbirth. And evidence shows it's largely been a success.

Dana Taylor:

What conversation should concerned parents have with their health providers?

Ken Alltucker:

Yeah, that's the recommendation here is sort of shared decision making that parents should consult with their doctors about the birth dose. Certainly parents can still get the birth dose per this recommendation if they choose to, and they should certainly ask doctors for evidence. Now, I should say that we could see a divide in this recommendation. There are certain states that are choosing to go on with their own health recommendations in light of this committee's vaccine skepticism, as well as other decisions by this administration. So you see West Coast states such as California, Oregon, and Washington at times doing their own health recommendations. And I think we'll probably see doctor's groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics come up with their own recommendations, which could be sticking to the current schedule.

Dana Taylor:

Have we reached a tipping point in the national conversation about vaccine skepticism? Is there evidence that this skepticism is harming people? And I'm thinking specifically about the spike in measles cases that has killed three so far this year.

Ken Alltucker:

A lot of people are concerned about this, about more people potentially refusing to get vaccinated or choosing to delay vaccinations at a time when it's not currently recommended. And we see that like in the measles vaccine, we've seen an uptick in parents choosing not to vaccinate their kids with MMR vaccine, which protects against measles. And that's partly blamed for the recent outbreak we've seen there that's led to some deaths. And one of the advocates during this proceeding for maintaining the hepatitis B schedule or the previous schedule said, "In a way, vaccines have been a victim of their own success. Because people aren't seeing these diseases widely circulated, they begin to question, why do we need vaccines?" And they say because the effectiveness of these vaccines, that's why we're not seeing these diseases such as hepatitis B among immunized infants or things like whooping cough or even something like polio.

Dana Taylor:

What are the implications here for this CDC as this chasm between RFK Jr. and the scientific community continues to widen?

Ken Alltucker:

We've seen this play out in a number of areas around healthcare and healthcare policy. And I think we're seeing doctor's groups and scientists go one way and the CDC and advisory committees like this going another way. Certainly as it relates to something like immunization and vaccination that could leave more people vulnerable to infection if they choose to not get vaccinated or if they don't invest in research for certain diseases that in a way the US can fall behind other nations and no longer be the place where we get cutting edge medical treatments, at least not to the degree that we have in recent decades.

Dana Taylor:

And finally, are there other vaccines now being targeted in the same manner by the CDC?

Ken Alltucker:

Well, we've heard a lot of chatter about the measles vaccine, but we haven't really seen action on that. And in fact, RFK during the recent outbreak emphasized that people should get vaccinated, but it's just the idea of questioning this overall that concerns many doctors and certainly other vaccines could be targeted in the future, but that's something we'll monitor for.

Dana Taylor:

Ken Alltucker is a USA TODAY consumer health reporter. It's good to have you on, Ken. Thank you.

Ken Alltucker:

Thank you, Dana.

Dana Taylor:

Thanks to our senior producer, Kaely Monahan for her production assistance. Our executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending a note to podcasts at usatoday.com. Thanks for listening. I'm Dana Taylor. I'll be back tomorrow morning with another episode of USA TODAY's The Excerpt.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Should all newborns receive a hepatitis B shot? | The Excerpt