Amid new federal guidance, Colorado leaders continue to recommend hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns
COLORADO (KRDO) – Despite a CDC committee recently changing decades-old guidance on the hepatitis vaccine, Colorado health experts say they will continue to recommend that doctors offer the hepatitis B vaccine to all newborns at birth.
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) vaccine advisory committee voted 8-3 to abandon the universal recommendation for giving the hepatitis B vaccine to all newborns at birth.
The committee instead advised that if an expecting mother tests negative for hepatitis B, the parents should decide, with the guidance of their healthcare provider, if the shot is right for their newborn. However, the vaccine is still recommended at birth if a mother tests positive for the virus, or if their vaccination status is unknown.
According to the CDC, hepatitis B is a vaccine-preventable liver disease caused by a virus, and can be both acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term). Doctors say infants and children who are infected with the disease are more likely to develop chronic disease.
Since the U.S. began recommending vaccinating all newborns against hepatitis B in 1991, the country has seen a 99% decline in pediatric infections. Here in Colorado, there have been no confirmed pediatric hepatitis B cases since 2016, largely in part to at-birth vaccinations, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) reports.
Those results are part of the reason why the CDPHE says it will continue to recommend doctors offer the vaccine to all newborns at birth, despite the CDC's recommendation change.
In a release, the CDPHE said continuing the universal recommendation reaffirms a "practice backed by decades of scientific evidence" and a "strong safety record."
“Colorado has spent decades building an effective system of maternal screening and universal birth dose vaccination that has nearly eliminated infant hepatitis B infections in our state,” the executive director of the CDPHE, Jill Hunsaker Ryan, said. “We want providers and families to know that the hepatitis B birth dose remains safe, effective, and strongly recommended for all newborns.”
State experts are cautioning that not having the recommended birth dose could unintentionally reverse the progress the state has seen – especially because, according to the CDPHE, nearly 29% of live births lack early prenatal care, meaning many pregnant individuals may not have been screened for hepatitis B.
The CDPHE said it will take many actions to ensure Coloradoans maintain access to the hepatitis B vaccine, such as ensuring insurance coverage, providing decision-making resources to families, and performing outreach at hospitals to identify and address barriers in getting the vaccine.
Notably, the hepatitis B vaccine is still required for a child to enter a child care facility or K-12 school in Colorado unless an exemption is filed, per state law.
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