US advisers scrap infant hepatitis B vaccine recommendation

US vaccine advisers have removed the universal recommendation for all children to receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. This change shifts the decision to parents for infants whose mothers test negative for the virus. The committee now advises the vaccine only for newborns with infected mothers, replacing a 1991 policy. Public health experts warn this could reverse decades of progress in preventing liver disease. This decision is part of broader changes to US vaccine policy. The World Health Organization recommends the hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns.