Protect America’s Babies: Reverse ACIP’s Dangerous Hepatitis B Rollback

I’m writing to urge you to oppose and work to reverse the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) decision to weaken the universal hepatitis B vaccine recommendation for newborns. This vote—taken by a panel that was purged and repopulated with anti-vaccine activists under the Trump Regime’s Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—threatens the health and safety of millions of American children. For more than 30 years, universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth has been one of the great quiet successes of American public health. It has nearly eliminated pediatric hepatitis B, a virus that, when acquired in infancy, often leads to lifelong chronic infection, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. The birth dose is simple, safe, effective, and ensures that no infant falls through the cracks. The new ACIP vote rolls back that protection. Instead of recommending the birth dose for all newborns, ACIP now says that babies of mothers who test negative for hepatitis B may delay the shot for months or skip it unless parents specifically request it. They also voted to move away from the long-established three-dose series that was tested and proven in clinical trials, suggesting that some children stop after one or two doses based on antibody testing—even though there is no evidence this provides lasting immunity. This change is not based on new scientific findings or safety concerns. No new harm has been identified. Decades of real-world safety and effectiveness data overwhelmingly support the existing policy. Pediatricians, infectious disease specialists, liver experts, and major medical organizations all opposed this move. They warn that it will confuse families, undermine confidence, and inevitably lead to more infant infections, more chronic disease, and more liver cancer and deaths years down the road. At the same time, the U.S. is facing declining vaccination rates and its worst measles outbreak in thirty years. Weakening proven childhood protections now is reckless. It sends exactly the wrong message at exactly the wrong time. This vote is part of a broader pattern: this ACIP has repeatedly questioned or narrowed access to long-standing vaccines, while entertaining misinformation and fringe theories in official deliberations. When vaccine policy is shaped by ideology rather than evidence, children pay the price. I am asking you to: 1. Urge the acting CDC Director to reject ACIP’s recommendation and retain universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth and the standard three-dose schedule. 2. Support oversight hearings into the politicization of ACIP, including member qualifications and decision-making processes. 3. Back legislation that protects childhood vaccine policy from political interference and keeps decisions grounded in scientific evidence. Parents of every political background expect their leaders to safeguard children’s health. Please act now to defend evidence-based vaccination policy and prevent a completely avoidable resurgence of hepatitis B and pediatric liver cancer.