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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Parental refusal of the newborn hepatitis B (HBV) vaccine has surged 107% since 2018, with refusal rates more than doubling by 2025. A CDC policy shift toward "shared decision-making" for low-risk infants is adding fuel to the fire — and modeling studies warn it could mean hundreds of additional infant infections each year. Experts say the default must remain: vaccinate.
Parental refusal of the newborn hepatitis B (HBV) vaccine has more than doubled since 2018, with a 107% spike recorded between 2024 and 2025 alone. A retrospective cohort study of 93,163 newborns in Philadelphia found that roughly 1 in 10 newborns did not receive the HBV birth dose in 2025. Clinicians say the trend is being driven by misinformation — including the belief that HBV is only sexually transmitted — and compounded by a December 2025 CDC policy shift that replaced universal birth-dose recommendations with "shared clinical decision-making" for infants born to HBsAg-negative mothers.
That policy change is raising red flags. A modeling study published in JAMA Pediatrics estimated the shift could result in 69–628 additional neonatal HBV infections annually, depending on how sharply vaccination coverage drops. Researchers also found that children who miss the birth dose are far less likely to complete the full three-dose series — with completion rates falling from 97.6% to just 55.3% among those who didn't receive the birth dose.
By the Numbers
Why it matters: Nearly 90% of neonatal HBV infections become chronic, raising lifetime risks for cirrhosis and liver cancer. Experts warn that without course correction, the U.S. could see a resurgence of a disease that was nearly eliminated in children — and clinicians may soon need to add vaccine-preventable illnesses back onto their differential diagnoses.
