On Thursday, experts designated by the Trump administration’s health secretary, who is skeptical of vaccines, examined the standard procedure of giving newborns the hepatitis B vaccine and debated whether to postpone the dose.
In Atlanta, Georgia, the restructured Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will meet for two days to discuss the outcomes of a September conference that produced updated recommendations for measles and COVID-19 immunizations.
But it had to postpone until Friday its decision on doing the same for hepatitis B shots due to confusion and resistance from some committee members who sought more time to evaluate the implications of the proposed change.
Under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, ACIP is now composed largely of figures criticized by the scientific community for lack of expertise or their promotion of vaccine-skeptic theories.
It has launched a thorough study of the safety of various vaccines, some of which have been in use for decades.
The American medical and scientific community is alarmed by the change spearheaded by the country’s health chief, who has long expressed anti-vaccine views despite his lack of medical credentials.
Experts have cautioned about declining vaccination rates and the resurgence of infectious illnesses like measles, which killed multiple people in 2025.
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