Washington, DC, December 5, 2025 — The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the voice of the over 3,300 local health departments across the country, has issued the following statement in response to today’s vote from the CDC vaccine panel to end the universal recommendation for newborns to receive the hepatitis B vaccine: 

Local health departments work each day to prevent disease and suffering, including unnecessary illness preventable by vaccines. Since 1991, the recommendation to administer a hepatitis B vaccine at birth has been key to doing just that. It dramatically reduced childhood transmission, cutting pediatric cases by 99%, and preventing children from severe liver complications and death. The previous expert recommendation closed a critical gap: while expectant mothers are routinely screened, two-thirds of pediatric hepatitis B infections occur in cases where the mother initially tested negative, and the virus was later transmitted through other household or community exposure. Today’s vote from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to remove the clear recommendation will make it harder for parents, who chose to vaccinate, to access this critical care in a timely way. History has shown that this will lead to more cases of hepatitis B and make it harder for local health departments to support the health of their communities.

NACCHO calls on federal, state, and local policymakers and public health agencies to scale up the response to viral hepatitis, including through vaccination. Viral hepatitis is a leading public health threat in the United States, contributing to liver cancer, transplants, and deaths. Hepatitis B Immunization—particularly within the first 24 hours after birth—is a critical tool that has prevented 6 million infections, improved quality of life of infants and children, and reduced expensive medical care borne by their families. The changes voted on today will put children at unnecessary risk of this complicated disease.  

More background can be found in the joint public comment signed by NACCHO and 68 other health groups urging the ACIP to protect access and choice by maintaining the hepatitis B birth-dose recommendation.