Statement on Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Change to the HBV Vaccine Schedule
Monday, December 8, 2025
The American Academy of Nursing (Academy) has long supported immunization as a critical intervention to reduce the incidence of vaccine-preventable disease and promote healthy lives for all people. Over the past thirty years (1994–2023), routine childhood vaccinations in the United States have prevented approximately 508 million cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations, and 1.1 million deaths.1
The Academy is deeply concerned by the decision from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to change the hepatitis B (HBV) vaccine schedule, which was released on December 5, 2025. Robust evidence supports giving all infants the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth, a strategy that has reduced infant HBV infections by 99% since 1991.2 ACIP’s recommendation would replace the universal birth dose with a risk-based approach based on the mother’s HBV status and shared decision making. Essentially, it delays vaccination and there is no new evidence that supports this approach, leaving children unnecessarily vulnerable with an increased risk to infection.
“Immunization is critical for public health promotion and reducing the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases on an individual, community, national, and global level. Changes to vaccination recommendations that are not grounded in science contribute to confusion, fuel vaccination misinformation, and fundamentally undermine trust in medical consensus,” said President Debra Barksdale, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP, ANEF, FAAN
The Academy previously voiced its concern with the changes to the vaccine schedule advanced by the ACIP at its September meeting. The Academy will continue to call for evidence-based decision-making regarding vaccine regulation. We urge the CDC to reject ACIP’s vote to delay the hepatitis B vaccine for infants and call on ACIP to reconsider any future actions that would change immunization schedules without strong evidence.
_____________________
[1] Zhou, F., Jatlaoui, T.C., Leidner, A.J., Carter, R.J., Dong, X., Santoli, J.M., Stokley, S., Daskalakis, D.C., & Peacock, G. (2024, August 8). Health and Economic Benefits of Routine Childhood Immunizations in the Era of the Vaccines for Children Program — United States, 1994–2023. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 73:682–685. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7331a2
[2] Ulrich, A. K., Fleming, D. F., Smith, E. A., Anderson, C. J., Stoddart, C. J., Mehr, A. J., Redepenning, S. G., Moat, L. E., Walensky, R. P., Lackritz, E. M., & The Vaccine Integrity Project. (2025). Universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth (By Alumbra Innovations Foundation & Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota). https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/sites/default/files/searchable-download/Universal%20Hepatitis%20B%20Vaccination%20at%20Birth%202Dec2025.pdf
|
Email to a Friend