ACIP key takeaways: What really happened and what it means for you
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
12 min read
The article centers on ACIP's controversial decisions, but most readers likely don't understand its formal structure, legal authority, how members are appointed, or its historical role in shaping U.S. vaccine policy since 1964
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Hepatitis B vaccine
15 min read
The article discusses removing the universal birth dose recommendation, but readers would benefit from understanding the vaccine's development history, the 1991 universal recommendation rationale, and the global impact of hepatitis B vaccination programs
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Vertically transmitted infection
11 min read
The article mentions mother-to-infant hepatitis B transmission as the key reason for birth dose vaccination, but doesn't explain the broader concept of perinatal disease transmission that makes timing critical for infant protection
The two-day meeting of ACIP—the committee that once guided evidence-based U.S. vaccine policy before being upended under RFK Jr.—just wrapped. And… it was something else. Disgraceful. Unprepared. Dysfunctional. Incompetent. Terrifying. Embarrassing. Opaque.
Our children deserve better. Period.
In the end, the committee voted to move America back to pre-1991 by removing the universal vaccination recommendation for the Hepatitis B infant dose despite no new evidence of harm and ignoring clear benefits. They also recommended that parents ask clinicians for an antibody blood test to determine the need for subsequent doses, even though there’s no evidence that this works. This ultimately shifts the burden to clinicians and parents and abdicates the responsibility of the recommending body.
While not the most catastrophic outcome, this change is going to have real consequences— with babies and families paying the price.
Where this goes from here depends on what happens next. If confusion dominates headlines and clinical practice and falsehoods fill the void, the consequences will be serious. But if we respond the way we saw many do today—pushing back with clarity, authority, evidence, coordination, and grassroots strength—the harm can be contained and minimized.
What actually happened and what it means to you
I’ll spare you the presentations. Over the past two days, The Evidence Collective (TEC) counted more than 60 (we lost count after this) falsehoods, distortions, and outright lies being megaphoned from one of the nation's highest committees. The potential damage from that alone is staggering. (The TEC debunk report is HERE; it was truly a herculean effort.)
However, there were also decisions made on your behalf. Two recommendations passed:
Vote 1 (translation): If the mother is Hep B-positive, get the birth dose. If Hep B status is unknown, get the birth dose. If Hep B-negative, shared clinical decision-making about the birth dose. If the patient chooses to delay, delay for at least 2 months.
Interpretation: This changes the universal birth dose recommendation to a risk-based one, reverting us to pre-1991. This decision was not evidence-based. Hep B vaccine has one of the most well-established safety records of any vaccine. During the meeting, decades of favorable risk/benefit priorities were replaced by pseudoscience, baseless skepticism, and by non-experts.
Implications: We can expect to see hundreds of babies in the next decade who would otherwise not have contracted deadly chronic liver disease because of this change.
Importantly: If you do want a vaccine
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