CDC advisers to vote on dropping universal newborn hepatitis B vaccine

An influential group of advisers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during a meeting on Thursday is considering dropping a longstanding recommendation to give all newborns a hepatitis B vaccination in the hospital. The CDC vaccine advisory committee, called ACIP, is also weighing new restrictions on existing recommendations for the combined MMRV shot to protect against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox. An official vote is expected on Thursday afternoon. From there, the vote will need signoff from the acting CDC director or the Health and Human Services secretary. The committee is not considering eliminating or recommending against these vaccines completely. But the changes that have been proposed could result in major disruptions and more illness, experts warn. Expert