New Mexico health officials reaffirm hepatitis B vaccine timing for newborns despite a recent CDC advisory panel vote to revise national guidance

Source New Mexico staff

The New Mexico Department of Health this month said it continues to “strongly recommend” newborns receive hepatitis B vaccinations, including the first dose within the first 24 hours of birth.

The announcement follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ vote to recommend delaying the initial dose for babies whose mothers test negative for hepatitis B.

According to a news release from the CDC, the committee instead recommended “individual-based decision-making” for parents whose children were born to women who tested negative for the virus. And for those infants not receiving a dose at birth, ACIP recommended administering the initial dose no earlier than two months of age.

In a news release, NMDOH noted that its recommendation aligns with the American Academy of Pediatrics and many other professional health organizations. Following ACIP’s vote, American Academy of Pediatrics President Dr. Susan J. Kressly released a statement calling the guidance “irresponsible and purposely misleading,” and said it would “lead to more hepatitis B infections in infants and children.”

A highly infectious virus, hepatitis B “can survive on surfaces for up to seven days and often spreads without visible blood exposure,” the NMDOH news release said. Prior to the start of universal newborn vaccination in 1991, “thousands of children were infected annually,” and up to 90% of those infected at birth developed chronic hepatitis B and approximately 25% die prematurely from related liver disease.

The NMDOH news also said the three-dose vaccination series against hepatitis B “provides protection into adulthood and significantly decreases risk for hepatitis B-associated liver diseases, including cancer,” and will continue to be available through the federal Vaccines for Children program as well as Medicaid and private insurance.

“For decades, the hepatitis B vaccine has proven safe and effective at protecting children from infection, including in settings like day care and schools where others may not know they are infected,” NMDOH Chief Medical Officer Dr. Miranda Durham said in a statement. “The vaccine provides a safety net for newborns at a time when they are most susceptible to disease.

More info is available via the New Mexico Department of Health Helpline: 1-833-SWNURSE (1-833-796-8773) or by text to 66364.