Shapiro pushes back on federal policy change, urges continuation of hepatitis B vaccines at birth

Gov Josh Shapiro is again pushing back on a Trump administration reversal on vaccine guidance, this time involving the hepatitis B vaccine given at birth.

In a press release, the Shapiro administration said it was standing with medical experts “to ensure parents can protect children from lifelong liver disease by strongly encouraging the continued administration of the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.”

On Friday, a federal advisory committee whose members were appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., voted to end a longstanding recommendation that all babies get the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. Hepatitis B is a bloodborne liver virus that can be transmitted in the womb.

Shapiro administration said the committee’s move created confusion for families and potentially devastating health outcomes for children.

“The scientific evidence is clear that vaccination of newborns against hepatitis B is important because when infants get infected with the virus, either from transmission from mother to baby or after birth due to close contact with an infected person, they have a 90% chance of developing lifelong liver disease, compared to less than a 5% chance for adults who get infected,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen.

“We know from experience that when vaccines are recommended and accessible, disease declines; when access falters, preventable infections return.”

The virus has all but been wiped out since 1991, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first recommended hepatitis B vaccination for newborns.

Not since 2019 has a child under 4 years old in Pennsylvania contracted hepatitis B because of the high rates of hepatitis B vaccination, the administration said.

Chronic hepatitis B infection has a high chance of leading to scarring of the liver, liver failure, liver cancer, and even death.

Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphries said insurance companies in Pennsylvania will continue to cover the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns.

Shapiro in October signed an excutive order to protect access to vaccinations in Pennsylvania by requiring state agencies to align vaccine guidance with medical experts, ensuring insurance companies cover recommended vaccines and creating www.pa.gov/vaccines as a resource for residents.