The federal government is ending its recommendation that every infant receive a hepatitis B vaccination at birth, the most substantive change to the childhood immunization schedule yet under US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Instead, the Trump administration is leaving the question to “individual decision-making,” according to new guidelines recommended by the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Friday. If the new guidelines are adopted by the CDC, as expected, most parents will be left to decide on their own in consultation with their doctor. (Mothers who test positive for hepatitis B or whose hep B status is unknown will still be advised to give their baby the shot at birth.)

Key takeaways

• The federal government’s vaccine expert committee has voted to end the universal recommendation that hepatitis-B vaccine be given to all newborns at birth.
• Several dissenting members said the new recommendations were not based on sound empirical evidence, but the changes were pushed through anyway.
• The change represents the anti-vaccine takeover of the CDC and US health agencies: Even without an urgent rationale to overhaul the vaccine schdule, RFK Jr.’s handpicked experts are ready to make big changes.

The new recommendations will suggest, however, that if your child does not receive the birth dose, you should wait until they are at least two months old before giving it to them. At least two members of the committee — Dr. Joseph Hibbeln and Dr.........

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